NOVPUB"Could it be, its effects are really that miraculous?"
My heart yearned to try again, but considering that Celestial Inquiry had left and the thought of completing that set of exercises on my own seemed quite difficult.
Moreover, the process of practicing was extremely painful and unbearable to recall.
Just as I hesitated, the household robot model YH63 had somehow already arrived at my side.
The eye sockets flashed continuously with a dark red glow.
Suddenly, I felt a chill and subconsciously asked, "Celestial Inquiry?"
YH63 did not respond.
It just mechanically repeated, "Shall I execute the assistive exercise program?"
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Faced with the somewhat persistent question from YH63, I thought it over and gritted my teeth to choose yes.
This time, it seemed I was slightly more accustomed to it.
I only fell into unconsciousness for three days.
Afterwards, when I checked the quantity of resources consumed, I had only used up 10 vials of Human Body Trauma Repair Liquid.
As for the Compound High-Energy Mixture, a total of 7 vials were consumed.
You must know, a single vial of a high-quality mixture could keep an ordinary person fed and hydrated for a month.
I had no idea where all that energy had gone.
After completing the training, I carefully observed my own body.
Compared to the previous records, I found that I might have, it seemed, possibly lost some weight.
"Is the weight-loss efficiency that high?" I was somewhat astonished.
However, what really made me take that set of illogical exercises seriously was one evening when classmates called me over to play basketball.
You see, my basketball skills were mediocre at best. I didn’t get to play much, usually just as a substitute.
That day, as I sat on the sidelines, my mind preoccupied with thoughts of the Nine-Syllable Stone Carving, I was slightly absent-minded.
A mistake in passing on the court sent the basketball flying straight towards my face.
Before my mind could react, my body had already instinctively made a move.
Without thinking, I extended my left hand and caught the ball steadily without even lifting my head.
This move caught everyone on the court by surprise.
"Not bad, when did you practice this move, kid."
"Awesome, Brother Li!"
I came back to my senses and smiled.
I tossed the ball back.
Looking at my left hand, I pondered deeply.
Upon returning, I spent 10,000 credit points to have a comprehensive physical examination.
The results shocked me.
Body functions, reaction speed, cellular activity...
Almost all had reached the highest standards achievable by non-professional athletes.
Not long ago, I was still someone who couldn’t stick it out running a thousand meters.
The effects of that set of illogical exercises had far exceeded my expectations.
Even, I was certain that even the training programs practiced by athletes around the world couldn’t compare to this illogical set of exercises.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Simple gymnastics can’t possibly have this kind of miraculous effect akin to surgery."
I finally sensed that something was off.
I thought about reporting it immediately, but for some reason, I hesitated.
For the following year,
whenever I had free time, I practiced with the help of the YH63 model.
At first, I still couldn’t endure it and would pass out.
Latterly, I could complete the entire set of exercises on my own.
Yet every time after exercising, I would sweat profusely, as if starving.
Besides the illogical movements, I also deduced illogical thinking.
On quiet nights, feeling lonely and wanting to reward myself, I would suppress my desires.
When I was excited and didn’t want to sleep, I’d force myself to sleep.
When I wanted to feast and drink without end, I’d stop in moderation.
...
Through the dual opposition of body and mind, my physical qualities evolved in a superhuman direction.
"My hundred-meter sprint speed has already surpassed the world record."
"Lifting 200KG is also a breeze."
...
After completing another round of physical tests, my heart was no longer astonished.
Instead, I felt a trace of panic and fear.
Contrary to the Principle of Heaven and Earth, to prove Longevity.
Those nine characters, shining with Golden Light, emerged again in my Spirit Consciousness.
I knew the incredible transformation of my body was due to this sentence.
"Ancient Xian Zhao..."
In the next thirty years.
After successfully graduating, I switched my research direction, to the puzzlement of everyone around me. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
My main focus became the archaeological exploration of the Ancient Xian Zhao civilization.
The set of exercises that defied logic did not cease.
But I no longer conducted tests.
Because I feared that once the test results came out, I would be captured as a monstrous non-human.
Only I knew what kind of horrifying body lurked beneath the simple cover of ordinary clothes.
The relics of Xian Zhao were elusive and traceless.
In the span of thirty years, my team and I had only found five Ancient Xian Zhao sites.
What left me somewhat disappointed was that among them, there was nothing like the Nine-Syllable Stone Carving that defied common reason.
Time flew by, and my friends and teachers had already begun to age slowly.
And I had remained unmarried.
Because I had to conceal something.
That was that I, unlike all humans who are destined to age, did not experience aging at all.
Every day I went out, I had to wear makeup.
Although my makeup skills had reached a masterful level over the years, and I avoided interacting with strangers as much as possible.
But whenever I thought about the risk of my eternal youth being exposed,
I would feel a surge of fear.
So, I knew it was time to leave.
-----------------
Late at night.
Within the Hundred-Color World, my body raced swiftly.
Among many rugged and majestic mountains and rivers, I moved as if on flat ground.
With a light step, I vaulted hundreds of meters.
And this was still not my limit.
The long-standing restrictions that weighed on me vanished without a trace. I felt nothing but absolute freedom.
"Vast and boundless as if riding the wind through the void without knowing where to stop, fleeting and floating as if standing alone and detached from the world, undergoing feather transformation and ascending to immortality," I chanted softly in my heart, and soon, I arrived at my destination.
Ling Yun Peak, the Nine-Syllable Stone Carving.
This site had already been unsealed by the government.
But it was only promoted as an artificial tourist attraction built by the local tourism department.
At the time, it had been harshly criticized by netizens.
At the top of Ling Yun Peak, I leaped down.
As if I could contend with gravity, I walked along the precipice of a kilometre-high cliff.
"This is my third visit."
"The feeling is even more profound this time."
"The faint aura remaining on these nine characters..."
"What exactly is it?"
I gently caressed them with my hand and whispered.
"Celestial Inquiry, what do you think?"
The watch on my wrist projected an odd creature, round and gurgling, with only two pairs of eyes.
It was the now commonly used, household Quantum Intelligent Computer, Celestial Inquiry.
Only, I was already aware in my heart that the Celestial Inquiry I carried with me was not the same as others’.
"Based on comprehensive data extrapolation,"
"Ancient Xian Zhao might be related to the legendary [Immortal]."
"Indications suggest that before the severance of ancient civilizations, there once lived powerful beings known as [Cultivators of Immortality] in this world."
…
The answer given by Celestial Inquiry this time was different from the past.
"Is there a new discovery?" I asked.
"No. This is just my conjecture." Celestial Inquiry was becoming more human-like.
I did not pay it any attention.
Instead, I felt the large characters beneath me more closely.
"Contrary to the Principle of Heaven and Earth, to prove Longevity."
"By defying the Principle of the Human Body, my physical condition has already reached such a terrifying level. What would it be like if one truly could defy the Principle of Heaven and Earth?"
"Yet the Principle of Heaven and Earth is a nebulous and elusive thing. How can one defy it?"
I stood atop the cliff of a kilometer-high precipice, lost in a daze.
Until the sun rose in the east and the sky was filled with morning glow.
I still had not come to terms with it.
"Immortal, immortal, immortal..."
"Where is the path to immortality to be found?"
Standing between Heaven and Earth, I only felt the loneliness of being alone.
