Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Regarding Feng Luoyi's comment, "Ask whatever you want," Wang Qi didn't take it seriously. In past inquiries, Feng Luoyi's stance was clear: whatever could be found in the Immortal Alliance Bookstore, she would disclose; what couldn't be found there, she wouldn't discuss. Of course, when it came to fields related to Wang Qi's cultivation or research, Feng Luoyi still provided detailed guidance.

Wang Qi bowed and asked, "Disciple wishes to inquire about two matters: the Dragon Clan and the Cult."

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "You child, always hitting the mark with your questions, it's as if you were born entwined with those secrets… Talking to me about it is one thing, but don't speak so with others."

Wang Qi was startled, understanding that this was a hint from Feng Luoyi.

The matters hidden by the Immortal Alliance—origins of the Banished Immortals, the Dragon Clan, and Evil Demons—all pointed in the same direction. Considering his status, which still wasn't politically clear, probing deeper could only make certain individuals within the Immortal Alliance more cautious.

However, Feng Luoyi's words contained an intriguing implication.

When speaking to me, you need not restrain yourself.

Wang Qi started from the beginning, "Teacher, the seal you placed on me has already broken."

"A deadly injury was bound to break it," Feng Luoyi acknowledged that she was already aware.

Wang Qi continued, "I had previously designed a Magic Artifact, which I embedded within my body, that could absorb excess mana. Because of this, the disciple wasn't controlled by the excess power when the seal broke, and I had to advance to a higher realm prematurely. Additionally, this Magic Artifact was made using the Innate Divine Seal of the Dragon Clan, allowing the disciple to wield the Divine Skills of the Dragon Clan."

Feng Luoyi nodded, "You feel the Dragon Clan's Divine Skills are too powerful?"

"Overwhelmingly so," Wang Qi stated earnestly, "They simply don't seem like something that could be nurtured within the Shenzhou creatures' circle."

If all creatures on this world were Enlightened by a Great Power, that would be one thing, but numerous fossil evidence combined with the Heavenly Calculation Theory let Wang Qi know that Earth's biological laws were somewhat applicable here as well.

Know this, evolution is not rearing Gu; it's not about survival of the fittest in terms of combat prowess. Great abilities often signify a heavy price. Immense power means a vast physique, high-quality muscle groups, or an advanced respiratory system, while potent toxins imply a need for substantial protein for synthesizing venom.

Creatures possessing such "abilities" must spend more time hunting and face greater risks.

The same applies to Demon Beasts, as using demonic power to develop the soul and sublime life but then diverting it to refine an Innate Divine Seal is a risky affair.

And evolution, it always points to a satisfactory solution of "good enough" rather than an optimal solution of "taking a slight risk for great benefits."

On this planet, no creature poses a significant threat to the Dragon Clan, so why evolve such powerful Divine Skills akin to vacuum energy or strong electric unification?

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "I truly cannot answer this question. There's no definitive conclusion."

"Don't assume the Immortal Alliance knows all the truths of this world. We are Seeking Dao Seekers, not Enlightened ones."

"As for the answer to this question, if you're interested, you might want to look through some books from the Ancient Spirit Cliff."

Wang Qi asked, "The Ancient Demon Clan Civilization?"

Feng Luoyi laughed, "I was thinking of nominating you for the Dao Seed Award, yet you're unclear about such basic questions."

Wang Qi was stunned, "Is this… common knowledge?"

"Not exactly," Feng Luoyi replied, "It's an introductory lesson at Tianling Ridge. Do you know, before the Human Clan, who ruled Shenzhou?"

Wang Qi ventured, "The Demon Clan…?"

Could it be that civilization's flame has been ignited and extinguished on this planet more than once?

Feng Luoyi said, "Apart from the unfounded, speculated Ancient Stone Demons, there was the Primordial Sea God Civilization—thought to be a super-being or collective consciousness formed from the primordial sea's algal clusters demonized, followed by the first Ancient Demon Clan Civilization, also known as the Cold War Demon Clan Civilization. After that, the longest-lasting yet least evidenced Dragon Clan Civilization. Following the mysterious decline of the Dragon Clan, there were two successive rises and falls of Demon Clan civilizations, known as the Near-New Demon Clan Civilization and Renewal Demon Clan Civilization. The former clearly perished in warfare, possibly civil war. The latter, worshiping the Great Sun Demon Emperor and born from the Ice Age, held a special reverence for light and heat. Then, its reason for demise—unknown."

Wang Qi physically shuddered, half from excitement, half from fear.

On this planet, civilization's flame was so easily ignited. From the Hidden Life Era to the Phanerozoic, from the Primordial Era to the New Era, the flame of civilization always existed.

This also meant that he could use layers of fossils to find more research materials, comparing with the history of Earth and the current Human Dao. Perhaps, one of his inspirations, Chen Feng's long-held wish, might materialize sooner.

And what Wang Qi feared was that Shenzhou's civilizations were persistent, yet not enduring.

The civilizations here have repeatedly perished, as if an invisible hand manipulates everything, or perhaps they all encountered some "Great Filter."

Feng Luoyi then said, "The civilization of the Dragon Clan has already declined, and although throughout a billion years, the dragons of the West Sea Dragon Abyss had no intention of rebuilding the glorious Dragon Dao. However, they have survived three civilization destructions, they are not ordinary demons, and should not be viewed with the usual perspective of the Demon Clan."

"Perhaps in your eyes, the Dragon Clan abandoning civilizational achievements, shrinking within the sea, ruling over the Sea Demons, are nothing more than savages consuming raw meat and blood or descendants of a civilization. However, their ability to survive through three exterminations surely means they have grasped something."

"The Ancient Dragon Emperor hiding in the West Sea Dragon Abyss is an ancient entity of unknown longevity, not to be underestimated."

Wang Qi fell silent for a while.

Ancient Dragon Emperor? Could it be a reptilian "Spiral King"? Suppressing its own racial civilization, evading extermination by foreign enemies?

What secrets does this universe still hold?

At this point, Feng Luoyi did not delve further, instead, she said, "If you truly wish to delve deeper, then study the works of Ancient Spirit Cliff."

Wang Qi nodded, then forced out a Dragon Clan Coin from within his body. "However, teacher, there's another thing. When I originally designed this Magic Artifact, it was only meant to absorb excess mana from my body at a fixed rate to keep my mana at a normal level. Yet, it has far exceeded its designed capacity, absorbing even the Life Flame without any signs of activation."

Feng Luoyi took the coin, scrutinized it carefully, then asked, "Do you have any regular Innate Divine Seals refined?"

Wang Qi took out ten coins from his Storage Bag and handed them to Feng Luoyi.

Feng Luoyi placed the two types of coins together, looked at them, then laughed, "You're mistaken, these are not Dragon Clan Innate Divine Seals!"

Wang Qi was shocked. "I've had many disciples from Tianling Ridge look at them, and they clearly are..."

Suddenly, Feng Luoyi stretched out a hand and pressed it on Wang Qi's chest. Wang Qi felt an inexplicable force entering his body, forcing out two remaining coins, and then resealed the Life Flame creating havoc within Wang Qi. Immediately after, three coins floated in his palm, trembling violently, endlessly invaded by the Spirit Light in Feng Luoyi's palm. Feng Luoyi asked, "Under what circumstances did you acquire this Innate Divine Seal?"

"From the hands of a noble of the Divine Capital," Wang Qi recalled, "It was delivered to me along with a big box of miscellaneous Innate Divine Seals."

Feng Luoyi nodded, "Did you have any thoughts at that time? Regarding the Dragon Clan."

Wang Qi recalled, "It was like... 'If only there were three Dragon Clan Innate Divine Seals' — huh?"

Feng Luoyi said, "These three Innate Divine Seals come from a single object. It has a law called 'Thoughts Become Reality.' Whenever it passes into a new owner's hands without their knowledge, it changes its shape according to the new owner's thoughts. As long as that wish doesn't exceed the caster's understanding, it can transform into anything. Additionally, it can make minor adjustments according to the holder's desires."

"When you refined these three coins, you must have wished 'if only it could perfectly solve my problems.' Thus, it generated new Spirit Prohibitions on its own. These three Dragon Clan Coins contain many Spirit Prohibitions, subtle, not a natural attribute of the Dragon Clan, but you cannot refine them; this is the manifestation of 'Thoughts Become Reality'!"

Wang Qi was shocked. "Such a powerful law, who created it?"

Feng Luoyi said, "That's quite a coincidence, I just discussed this strong figure with you."

"Ancient Dragon Emperor? What does it want?"

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "We don't know that. Dragon Clan thinking is very different from the Human Clan's, nobody knows what it's thinking. This law I can break with some effort, afterwards you can use it freely and boldly."

Wang Qi sighed, "What exactly is this thing used for?"

"Perhaps it's 'surveillance,' but in reality, nobody knows." Feng Luoyi was making efforts to break the Ancient Dragon Emperor's law: "This item may not even be referred to as 'Thoughts Become Reality' within the Dragon Clan. Whoever gets it can make great use of it, whether it's integrated into their body or refined into a Magic Artifact. Hence, no one is willing to discard it. Moreover, it's almost undetectable unless you're a Carefree Practitioner, otherwise one can only notice something's wrong from their Magic Artifact's abnormal performance."

Wang Qi pondered, "What if it's an Ancient Method Practitioner, lacking understanding of Heavenly Dao, unable to comprehend every step and principle of a Magic Artifact's formation? It's normal for the artifact's performance to exceed or fall below design, too happy about high performance... Being in possession of such a powerful artifact might just belong to top figures of Immortal Dao. Is it infiltrating the Human Clan?"

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "Not necessarily. When a Modern Cultivator discovers an artifact performing abnormally high, they actively trace the reason. Many people have discovered this mysterious phenomenon and successfully traced it back to some West Sea Demon Hunter. According to records, those Demon Hunters are always hoping to extract valuable mutated Divine Seals from ordinary Demon Beasts. As for which Demon Beast might contain a 'Thoughts Become Reality,' what 'Thoughts Become Reality' will transform into, that's completely random."

"This disguised Chen Xiantian Divine Seal or other Demon Beast materials entering the Immortal Alliance, only a part is obtained by the high-ranking, most are used by lower-level cultivators. Moreover, there are some 'Thoughts Become Reality' that directly transform into powerful Divine Seals or Demon Cores, already becoming a Sea Demon King in the sea. It's not targeting the Human Clan."

Wang Qi suddenly wore a strange expression.

This practice of laying down surveillance everywhere, then randomly selecting samples for monitoring... it feels so familiar...

It's something I've done too... back when I was studying pedestrian flow patterns...

Could the Ancient Dragon Emperor possibly be researching... the Way of Civilization? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)