NOVPUB
Chapter 558: Chapter 554 Immortal Cultivation
A thousand miles outside the Demon Realm Rift.
The previously fierce and violent energy fluctuations gradually calmed down.
Duanmu Chengyun, Dong Xuanzi, Su Xin, Zhang Yingzhen, and Zhao Piaomiao, the five Supreme Void Immortals, had completed their pursuit of dozens of Demon Emperors, achieving brilliant results in battle.
Less than a third of the many Demon Emperors hastily summoned by the two great Demon Gods, Star Trace and Long Xiao, managed to escape with their lives.
After this great battle, the five Void Immortals finally came back to their senses, from witnessing the arrival of a creator to the shock of that creator’s erasure.
They tidied up the battlefield and with complex emotions, looked in the direction of the Demon Realm Rift from afar. They even...
Dared not to look any longer.
Fearing that the terrifying being, who was no longer known whether to be called an "Ancient True Immortal," had some means to sense their gazes from a thousand miles away and, like erasing a creator and two Demon Gods, annihilate them.
"What do you think... the identity of that ’Ancient True Immortal’ could be?"
It was a while after the battle had ended that Zhang Yingzhen brought the topic back up.
"True Immortal? Martial Saint? Heavenly Monarch? Or... a creator?"
Alas, no one could answer that question.
They, too, wanted to know.
"The materials he is gathering, if I am not mistaken, he is in the process of refining a Ruins Beast."
Su Xin suddenly spoke.
Ruins Beast!
Forbidden weapons!
This was something similar to Demon Spirits, but far more terrifying.
A thousand years ago, creators relied on such forbidden weapons to keep True Immortals from raising their heads.
Some True Immortals were so oppressed that they despaired of the path of cultivation, shunned the huge temptation of residing in the world for a thousand years, turned to cultivate the way of the Heavenly Master, setting foot on the path of Heavenly Master.
The Immortal Country was established under such circumstances back then.
True Immortals gathered together, huddling for warmth, avoiding the persecution of creators.
"So what if he is refining a Ruins Beast, we are simply powerless to stop him."
Zhang Yingzhen said: "Likewise, the Immortal Country cannot spare the manpower or resources to stop him anytime soon."
"No matter what, all we need to know is that this ’Ancient True Immortal’ does not hold much malice towards us."
Duanmu Chengyun said sternly, "As for what outcome awaits us... that probably depends on how we perform next."
"Performance..."
Zhao Piaomiao, Dong Xuanzi, and the others thought about Gu Jinlai’s actions throughout the past year.
They made up their minds.
"All right, let’s quickly help the Ancient True Immortal gather the materials he needs."
As Duanmu Chengyun spoke, he glanced at everyone, "Actually, if we think about it patiently, if the Ancient True Immortal truly decides to be lenient to us, his existence might not necessarily be a bad thing for us."
As he spoke, he looked at the corpse of the Demon Emperor he was holding in his hand: "At least, Devils are no longer a threat to us."
His words somewhat lifted the spirits of the Void Immortals.
Gu Jinlai showed such suffocating strength.
This power smashed any improper thoughts they might have had to dust.
Given the situation, they could only think positively.
At the very least, they did not have to worry about the Devils breaking through the Holy Dynasty in the coming years and being forced to flee to that completely unfamiliar world with an unknown future.
Once they thought it through, the Void Immortals nodded to each other.
"Then let’s do that, first help the Ancient True Immortal gather materials, and then take advantage of the fall of the two great Demon Gods to launch an all-out counterattack against the Devils."
...
Blue Star.
Southern Heavenly Gate Project Group.
Ever since the reorganization of the project group, many personnel have gone to the True Immortal Research Institute, which was jointly established by Central Earth, Yellow Dragon, and Da Jin, leaving the Southern Heavenly Gate project group much more deserted and empty.
However, in contrast, management also became much more relaxed.
No longer like before, when one couldn’t even make a phone call without a major event.
And now...
Xie Yusheng could even play online games on the external network.
Even thinking about leaving the project group was no longer difficult, it was just a matter of submitting a report.
At this moment, Xie Yusheng had just spent the morning scanning the newly released sci-fi games on the market, strolling leisurely toward the canteen.
Halfway there, he received a message on his phone.
Salary credited.
"Tsk tsk, though the project group doesn’t have as much power as before, they are still very generous when it comes to money. Two thousand eight hundred in salary, plus two hundred forty thousand in performance bonus, plus over sixty thousand in various allowances... The salary hasn’t exceeded three thousand, just right within the tax-exempt bracket, below the national average line."
Xie Yusheng looked at the bank card balance shown in the text message and cheerfully put his phone away.
After a moment, he felt a twinge of guilt.
What had he done this month?
It’s like nothing was ever done.
Was he just searching for games in the morning, gathering information in the afternoon, and playing games in the evening?
His repulsion shield had been thoroughly perfected.
Now, he had moved on to optimizing the Nuclear Fusion Engine project.
He had considered the Anti-Matter Engine.
But, although it was already the year 2036, there wasn’t even a decent theory for the Anti-Matter Engine to speak of, and he couldn’t just make one up out of thin air.
So, he had to keep hammering away at the Nuclear Fusion Engine.
Hadn’t it been said that, in theory, Nuclear Fusion Engines could reach one-fifth the speed of light?
He only needed fifty percent of the theoretical maximum, so there was still plenty of hope.
"The real issue in front of me is one of power output, which is a bit low, and to solve this problem, I either have to approach it from a technological perspective or increase its size..."
Xie Yusheng’s mind flashed with the image of the Star Destroyer Mecha, which had already grown to a massive three hundred meters.
If he still had to increase its size...
It might reach a thousand meters!?
"Is this a Cosmic Battleship or a Mecha?"
Xie Yusheng silently complained to himself.
At this moment, as he entered the canteen, he heard the conversation of a few colleagues nearby.
"The first step is Body Refining, combined with meditation? The second step is Qi Refinement, and once you have refined enough Qi, you can establish a Foundation and develop a Flawless True Body? Then form a Golden Core, and from within the Golden Core nurture the Primordial Spirit? The Primordial Spirit transforms and becomes the Holy Dharma? Is this system reliable?"
The man speaking was in his thirties and sat five or six meters away from Xie Yusheng; his tone was skeptical.
"Reliable, absolutely reliable! This was passed to me by a friend at the True Immortal Research Institute. If we weren’t a subordinate organization of theirs, he wouldn’t have revealed a single whisper to us."
The reply came from a middle-aged man in his forties, "The top brass have already started cultivating en masse. They’ve combined a new method of Immortal Cultivation with our local techniques, integrating them, and they’ve achieved some quite impressive results. Some elites, with the collection of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the help of technology, are close to completing their Foundation Establishment."
"Cast an Immortal Foundation, Perfect Essence, Qi, and Spirit? A Flawless True Body?"
"Right, those who reach this step can live up to two hundred years."
"Just by establishing an Immortal Foundation you can live to two hundred years old!? This... This is truly astonishing!"
"I have a Meditation Method right here, if you’re interested, let’s say three million..."
...
Their voices gradually became quieter.
Xie Yusheng could hardly hear them clearly anymore.
Nevertheless, he didn’t feel like listening any further.
"Cultivation? Isn’t that superstition?"
Xie Yusheng shrugged his shoulders, "These city folks really know how to play."
He absentmindedly ate a few bites of rice, thinking about where to go to round up some theories that... at the very least, wouldn’t be picked apart by the pseudoscientists, to strengthen the nuclear fusion reactor.
At this time, the middle-aged man who had been peddling the Meditation Method came up to Xie Yusheng with a smile and said, "Little Yu, you must have heard our conversation just now, right? I’m telling you, a new era is quietly dawning, and anyone who can’t keep up with the times will ultimately be left behind by them. Right now is the budding period of the cultivation civilization. To move quickly is to gain an advantage at every turn. The meditation method that can start you on the path of cultivation I have here is a deal you cannot lose out on, a deal you cannot be deceived..."
"Hua Gaoyan, you need to believe in science."
Xie Yusheng interrupted him seriously.
"Little Yu, in fact, I have great expectations for you. You have opportunities that others do not, and your future should not be so quietly unknown. If you can catch the tailwind of this bonus, your prospects will be limitless, and right now, the opportunity is right in front of your eyes, all for just three million..."
The middle-aged man was earnestly persuading him.
"I have always believed that technology is the sole productive force, no matter how powerful an Immortal is, they are insignificant in the face of technological might."
"You have a blind faith in technology, but can current technology, no matter how powerful, surpass the creatures of myth and legend? Take the Golden Crow, for example, which is an incarnation of the Sun. Even if Blue Star’s weapons were amplified ten thousand times, they wouldn’t scratch the surface of the Sun, not to mention the Golden Crow, which rivals the Great Sun Stars, was killed by a powerful being known as Si Yi. This illustrates the upper limits of what cultivation can reach..."
Xie Yusheng just shrugged, "I am a steadfast warrior of materialism."
Seeing his reaction, the middle-aged man, displeased, shook his hand dismissively, "Ignore the old to your own detriment, you will regret your decision now."
With that, he turned and left.
Xie Yusheng paid him no mind.
When he returned to his own studio, a staff member just happened to come out: "Xie Yusheng? Your leave application has been approved. Sign the confidentiality agreement, and you can go."
"Has my leave finally been approved?"
A light suddenly shone in Xie Yusheng’s eyes.
He had been part of the South Heavenly Gate project for almost five years now.
Rounded up, that’s ten years!
Living on this tiny piece of land for so long, he had almost become sick from it.
Now, at last, he could go out and get some fresh air, he was almost jumping for joy.
"Fantastic."
Xie Yusheng packed up his things at lightning speed, grabbed his state-of-the-art laptop configured by the South Heavenly Gate project team and related data discs for the Southern Heavenly Gate Chronicles, and rushed out of the project group’s premises eagerly.
However, when he arrived at the main gate in a vehicle from within the project group, he saw a fiery red luxury sports car waiting there.
Qiao Siyu, who had matured quite a bit but still exuded an air of elegance and was impeccably dressed, was waiting by the side.
Suddenly, the joyous expression on Xie Yusheng’s face froze.
