Exploring Immortality Cultivation

After being thrown out of the Immortal Alliance's Leiyang Branch by Feng Luoyi, Wang Qi strolled idly through the streets for a long time. It was only in the evening that Chen Feng contacted him through the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm to say that he had found a research institution capable of doing the analysis, and that they could start the analysis the next morning without having to wait in line. After leaving behind half a jade stone, they settled down in Leiyang and spent the next day there, sightseeing to improve their spirits. On the third day, they bought boat tickets and took the Spirit Boat to Divine Capital. Since Divine Capital had no Spirit Harbor, they disembarked at Lower Capital and flew back to Divine Capital.

Chen Youjia was still the same, with a calm expression on her face. But that night, the dishes on the table indicated that the return of Wang Qi and Chen Feng had put her in a very good mood.

Then, life returned to its usual course. Wang Qi continued to play the part of a fortune teller in the yard to the west of the city every day. A few days after his return, he also went to observe Du Gui once and left some books in his room. Every afternoon, he still joined Chen Youjia to study mathematics together.

Yet, Chen Youjia always felt that this fellow was burdened with heavy thoughts and was exceptionally downhearted.

All right, Chen Feng seemed to have this tendency too. But Chen Feng was a disciple of Yangshen Pavilion after all; self-adjustment and purification of the Dao Heart were part of the curriculum, and temporary downheartedness was nothing serious. But Wang Qi was different.

Chen Youjia bit her lower lip, feeling that it was necessary to have a talk with Wang Qi.

She had heard from Chen Feng about what happened in Xiaodong and understood Wang Qi's emotions. Even though she knew she was not good with words, she just had to say something to Wang Qi.

Ten days after Wang Qi's return, Chen Youjia finally mustered her feelings. In the evening of that day, after all the research staff under Chen Feng had left, she approached Wang Qi.

At that moment, Wang Qi was lying on the rooftop, silently watching the sunset obscured by layers of dark clouds, with his left hand cushioning his head and his right hand absentmindedly tossing and catching a Spirit Rhinoceros Bottle. Chen Youjia recognized it—it was the third Heart Demon Great Curse Memory, which Wang Qi called the "Five Epidemics General Curse."

On the third day of Wang Qi and Chen Feng's return, Leiyang had completed the analysis of the sample that Chen Feng submitted and sent back the Intrinsic Form. This Intrinsic Form was longer than that of the Holy Light God but slightly shorter than the Circle of Reason. Considering that it was just a part of Hongyuan, this level of complexity seemed quite reasonable. Wang Qi, drawing on his previous two experiences, deciphered the algorithm of the Five Epidemics General Curse and then created this Memory Body using some of the samples.

Chen Youjia moved closer to Wang Qi and sat beside him. She suddenly felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say. After hesitating for a long while, Chen Youjia finally spoke up and asked, "You've been recently..."

Suddenly, Wang Qi said, "Today's wind is really noisy, isn't it?"

Chen Youjia was stunned. "Noisy? Um, the north wind is loud..."

Wang Qi sat up and patted Chen Youjia's head. "Senior Sister, if you ever find yourself at a loss for words and feeling awkward, just start the conversation like this. I know you usually don't speak much..."

Chen Youjia swatted away Wang Qi's hand, annoyed, "You're the one who's feeling awkward! You're the one who doesn't know how to talk!"

Wang Qi held onto the azure Memory Body and asked, "What do you want to say? Have you encountered a difficult problem, or is there something you want to eat?"

Chen Youjia's cheeks puffed up slightly, feeling like her long-prepared emotions had gone to waste. After a long time, she reluctantly said, "I've been watching you lately, not knowing what you're thinking."

"If you knew what I was thinking, you could go straight to Yangshen Pavilion to become the head Senior Sister," Wang Qi laughed. "Even Chen Feng can't do that."

In two years' time, Chen Feng was no longer able to read Wang Qi's thoughts as easily as before.

Chen Youjia turned her head away. "Stop joking. I... I just see that you've been very preoccupied lately."

"Preoccupied, huh..." Wang Qi lay back down, gazing at the sky. "Recently, I've discovered that my True Heart is somewhat enchanted by my own strength, and I feel different from before."

Chen Youjia thought for a while and then encouraged, "I think you've always been worthy of the title 'Seeking Dao Seeker'..."

"'True Self as one, True Heart difficult'... That's how a Senior Brother once taught me—True Heart is the initial heart upon embarking on the path of Seeking Dao, the supreme joy of attaining a layer of Dao. True Self is the inherent nature before embarking on the path of Seeking Dao." Wang Qi raised one hand, as if trying to touch the sky. "Four years ago, I was just a mortal, without a trace of mana, knowing no spells. Today, I can single-handedly take down any Ancient Golden Core. Including magic artifacts, I could even take on a group of Ancient Golden Cores by myself—am I cultivating too fast?"

For some reason, Chen Youjia felt that Wang Qi's gaze toward the sky was somewhat strange.

Chen Youjia felt an inexplicable loneliness. She hugged her knees and said to Wang Qi, "Actually... that's normal, isn't it? Otherwise, why would there be a practice like Red Dust Heart Refining?"

"Three years ago, the West Sea Dragon King stirred up a Heavenly Calamity, sweeping across the whole of Shenzhou. At that time, I was only at the Mid-Stage Qi Refining, maybe even at the early stage, but I could already regard the snow disaster as nothing, merely seeing the heavy snow as a spectacle... I remember at the time I was watching the snow with another girl."

Girl?

Chen Youjia's mental state began to change due to a specific word.

Wang Qi gave a bitter smile. "After leaving the Immortal Institute and coming to Divine Capital, I never once went hungry, and my standard of living was quite high—oh, of course, except when I was engrossed in math problems. And then, this time, I realized the terrifying aspect of that snow disaster. It actually drove so many people into desperation... If I had started my cultivation four years later, I might have ended up as a sacrifice in a Cult, right?"

"It feels... like I'm no longer in the same world as mortals. Although I can still feel compassion for them, I can no longer 'empathize' with them. Their desperation is, for me, just a scenic view on the roadside."

Chen Youjia felt awkward, unsure what to say, and could only reply, "Actually, being able to retain a compassionate heart is already quite good..."

"I should be the one to control power, not the other way around," Wang Qi shook his head, "Moreover, while at Leiyang, I felt something else..."

"It's normal for you to feel a distance from mortals," suddenly, Chen Feng flipped over from the other side of the room, "Go on, I didn't notice any signs of a heart demon troubling you when we were at Leiyang."

Chen Youjia felt inexplicably irritated. However, Wang Qi was feeling guilty, and talking with Chen Feng seemed appropriate, so he didn't send him away.

Wang Qi said, "At Leiyang, when I visited a senior, a terrifying thought occurred to me—what if I infused the Heart Demon Curse into the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm? Could I then control the entire Immortal Alliance?"

Chen Feng seemed unconcerned, "Such a thought, just think it and move on, what's the big deal?"

"I was truly tempted."

Chen Youjia jumped up, shocked, "How could you... How could you think such a thing?"

"Youjia, the fact that Wang Qi is willing to speak out shows that he won't do it," Chen Feng consoled Chen Youjia, then turned to Wang Qi and asked, "But tell me, how did you let go of that idea?"

"I'm a Seeking Dao Seeker, after all. The Immortal Alliance is not a place of refuge for me, nor a power I need to control. It's an existence where like-minded individuals help each other. If I brainwashed the entire Immortal Alliance, who would help me travel further along the path of the Immortal Dao?" Teacher Wang Qi replied.

Chen Feng laughed, "That's indeed your style."

Wang Qi sighed, "That battle, in the end, it was the external force that confused my mind, making me long for power. I would not have had such thoughts before."

Chen Feng said, "Indeed, you're too much of a genius, gaining strength too quickly, like a child with a sharp blade, always wanting to swing it around. That must have led to a loosening of your moral grip. Once we're done dealing with those cults, you should start the Red Dust Heart Refining practice. It just so happens Youjia has reached this stage as well, the two of you could travel together."

Chen Youjia felt a sudden panic. Chen Feng timely sent a secret message: I'll definitely help my sister!

"Still have to be busy with this for a while though," Wang Qi sat up, "Speaking of which, weren't you supposed to graduate with Junior Sister the same year?"

"Sorry, sorry, I have other plans," Chen Feng suddenly became serious, "Wang Qi, Youjia, I actually came here to discuss something."

He took out a research paper outline, "I plan to hand this over to my teacher—he's a Carefree Practitioner, he will surely know how to handle this paper correctly. After that, I'll have no choice but to stay at the Yangshen Pavilion, and before that, I might have to spend some time at the Criminal Law Department..."

Chen Youjia snatched the outline, shocked, "This is the thesis on the Heart Demon Curse! Are you planning to take on all the responsibility alone?"

"Hongyuan Sect has similar laws. If this spreads unchecked, not just the Immortal Alliance, but the entire Human Clan and even the Demon Clan won't escape an inevitable doom," Chen Feng explained, "We must warn the Immortal Alliance. But, this research must also continue, so Wang Qi must keep studying..."

Chen Youjia became anxious, "Do you realize the nature of this? Private involvement in a cult, capital punishment is the maximum sentence!"

"I could legally research Divine Tao, so they'll go easy on me..."

At that moment, Wang Qi said leisurely, "Actually, you don't need to do this. I've already solved the problem."

"Solved?"

Wang Qi sat up, "At Leiyang, the senior I visited was also a Carefree Great Cultivator. I told him about these matters. He then said that this time, the good and bad would cancel each other out and told me to submit the paper, and then he would use his own name to help us settle this matter—honestly, Chen Feng, I made a better person out of myself this time."

Chen Feng struggled, "You've already handled this?"

"Yes."

"Is this like a plea bargain?"

Chen Youjia finally showed an unbearable expression, "The matter's already been settled, and you're still fretting over this?"

Wang Qi said, "This guy, hopeless."

Chen Feng struggled for a long time before saying, "Let's just consider this a special case..."

Wang Qi went on, "Speaking of which, guys, I think we need to adjust our research plan."

"This time actually reminded me why I got into this research, and why I wanted to pursue this level of Dao!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to qidian.com to support it with recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)