I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Jianmu.

Planted nearly six thousand years ago.

Zhou Yi nurtured it daily with Creation Dew, and it had already grown over a hundred zhang tall, its emitted spiritual energy rivaling that of the spirit veins of Qingyun Mountain.

The soul shard of the Yellow Bull God, integrated into it using the beast soul artifact refining technique, was in a state neither alive nor dead. Occasionally, waves of consciousness would emerge, showing affection for and reliance on Zhou Yi.

Whether it was the consciousness of the Yellow Bull or that of the Jianmu was unclear to anyone.

This was inherently a technique to seek life from the midst of death; if successful, one would establish the foundation of immortality, and if not, one's soul would scatter and perish.

This soul tool technique originated from the remnant teachings of the artifact refining from the Patching Heaven Sect. As a major sect spanning the Nine Continents and Dongsheng Divine Continent, perhaps they possessed methods to rectify this.

Gu Xiao said, "Junior brother, do you have a beloved person that you're trying to keep in the world using the soul tool technique, against all odds?"

"Indeed, it's exactly like that."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly. The Yellow Bull had been by his side since the Qi Refinement stage, and, through many tribulations until its death and the extinguishing of its path, it could be said that their bond was deeper than ninety-nine percent of the relationships in the world. He inquired,

"How did elder brother Gu guess? Could it be that there are similar cases within our sect?"

"That is only natural. In the journey of immortal cultivation, everyone encounters several kindred dao companions..."

Gu Xiao murmured to himself, seemingly recalling past events, and sighed, "Most end up like this poor daoist, watching their beloved age and pass away. The few who are madly in love resort to all kinds of methods to extend life or resurrect."

"These methods include not just corpse refining and ghost cultivation, which are heterodox and deviant practices, but ultimately, they aren't lasting solutions. Sooner or later, one will face the great matter of life and death once again. What's worse, zombies and malevolent specters imbued with Yin Sha will influence one's soul, and the one who has their life extended isn't truly themselves!"

The people in the hall empathized deeply. A Golden Elixir True Monarch has a lifespan of five hundred years. Each person's experiences were full of ups and downs, and it was inevitable that they faced separation and loss of loved ones along the way.

Moreover, the Patching Heaven Sect is an orthodox school of the Xuanmen. Transforming one's beloved into a zombie or soul would be deemed an act of heretical and evil factions.

Zhou Yi said, "Could it be that the soul tool technique was originally intended for extending life?"

"This technique was not initially for the refinement of soul tools but was researched by the pioneers of our sect who were investigating the origin of spirit roots. They were trying to create or enhance spirit roots from nothing for their dao companions and descendants, leading to the development of a method to transfer qualities."

Gu Xiao spoke eloquently, "The predecessors sought out a superior spiritual object, like a rainbow lotus or a Myriad-Year Spirit Ginseng, which, at the verge of developing spiritual intelligence, would undergo body swapping to gain the qualities of a spiritual body."

"Body swapping does not extend life!"

Zhou Yi shook his head in denial, as body swapping was forbidden in the Cultivation World.

Nevertheless, the limitations of lifespan were not only applicable to the physical body but also to the soul. Techniques like Yuan Ling and Golden Corpse, which involved divinity transformation body swapping, relied on the overbearing nature of their divinity source to devour another's soul and forcibly merge it with their own!

Because the divinity source was overbearing, the dominant personality would become the Golden Corpse.

Therefore, they would often choose to take over the bodies of newborn infants with blank slates of cognition, as their sense of self would not be greatly affected.

Such nefarious techniques were suitable for the demonic path. As for the Patching Heaven Sect, this was strictly taboo, so they explored the technique of body swapping with spiritual objects, as a cultivator taking over a spiritual medicine would not be condemned by humanity.

"If body swapping can't extend life, then one must shatter the soul and grow together with the spiritual object."

Gu Xiao said, "The foundation of a superior spiritual object, when placed in a human, is equivalent to a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and the body tends to be in harmony with the heavens and earth, a truly enduring solution. The pioneer who proposed this method researched it for countless years, but never achieved great success before passing away and extinguishing his path."

Zhou Yi slowly said, "Is it because the success rate is too low?"

Gu Xiao nodded, "One in a hundred! As the spiritual object's own intelligence grows, and with the advantage of its home ground, it will eventually overpower the successor, and the only outcome would be the emergence of a demon race."

"Later on, a master of artifact refining learned of this method, and by integrating it with artifact refining, he ultimately created the Soul Tool Secret Technique."

"Originally, spiritual artifacts were extremely rare in Dongsheng Divine Continent. Ever since the Soul Tool Secret Technique was devised, we've been able to refine Pseudo Spirit Tools, leading to a significant increase in our strengths. We truly owe it to the predecessors!"

The Cultivation World is never static but advances with each generation of cultivators' explorations.

The past is not necessarily superior to the present!

Tracing the origins of the Soul Tool Secret Technique, it may not have been created for artifact refining, much like how sildenafil was initially for treating angina pectoris. In the end, it brought significant progress to the Cultivation World, eliminating the need to spend thousands or tens of thousands of years to cultivate a spiritual artifact, marking a major advancement.

The hall fell silent as everyone pondered deeply and then bowed in gratitude to Gu Xiao.

"Thank you, Uncle-Master/Master Gu, for your guidance!"

Sitting and discussing the Way is not only about discussing cultivation techniques and divine abilities.

A single anecdote or parable can lead to insights into the path of cultivation, rendering the journey all the more worthwhile.

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "Elder brother mentioned so much, could it be because there is now a solution?"

"Junior brother, you are correct."

Gu Xiao took out a Wish Power Bead from his sleeve and said, "This object is born from the incense of multitudes, condensed by the will of sentient beings, and its essence has a profoundly mysterious connection to the soul and spiritual intelligence!"

Wish Power Beads do not necessarily come from humans; the offerings of spirits, monsters, and demons can also generate incense power.

However, the intentions from these beings are mixed, affecting the quality of the Wish Power Beads and potentially causing the user to harbor demonic thoughts. Therefore, cultivators seldom cultivate followers among demonic beings.

Zhou Yi bowed and said, "Please enlighten me, elder brother."

"There are two methods, one fast and the other slow."

Gu Xiao explained, "The faster method is to directly refine the Wish Power Bead, but the mixed thoughts within incense may cause confusion in the spiritual intelligence. The slower method involves gathering the incense offered and worshipped by all beings, which crystallizes into Wish Power that is controlled and pure in thought, making it relatively safer."

Zhou Yi said, "Even if it's relatively safer, there's still the risk of backlash from the incense." Explore stories on empire

"Compared to the benefits, what's that to worry about?"

Gu Xiao stated, "This is about changing the quality of the Spirit Root, an act that breaks the rules of heaven and earth. How could there not be repercussions? Furthermore, once the soul consolidates, there's no longer a need for the Wish Power Bead, and the impact won't be significant!"