Exploring Immortality Cultivation

While Chen and Deng, the two cultivators, were handling the exchange of duties, Su Junyu was busy introducing Xinyue Immortal Institute to Wang Qi and his companion. Since Xiang Qi was also schooled in the ways of cultivation, he was somewhat familiar with the Immortal Institute, so after getting a basic understanding of Xinyue Immortal Institute's layout, he went to report to the person in charge. Su Junyu led Wang Qi to collect the items required for new disciples.

The Immortal Institute is a place for imparting basic knowledge to new disciples. It wasn't much different from what Wang Qi had imagined—similar to a high school on Earth. Several large buildings that looked like grand halls served as classrooms, and there were fully-equipped facilities akin to laboratories on Earth, such as alchemy rooms and artifact refining rooms. To Wang Qi's surprise, there was even an open-access book tower.

It seems that the core sects within the Immortal Alliance have a looser grip on knowledge management, Wang Qi mused thoughtfully.

Besides these, what surprised Wang Qi the most was a peculiar mirror called the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror. It looked no more than a copper mirror the size of a washbasin, but once mana was inputted, it could automatically connect the user's spiritual sense to a magical illusion called the Ten Thousand Immortal Realm. According to Su Junyu, the Ten Thousand Immortal Realm had everything.

However, currently, the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror was difficult to refine, and even Golden Core Cultivators found it hard to afford. Now, only the internals of sects and the Immortal Alliance have them equipped.

It's like an early version of the internet, Wang Qi murmured in amazement. Listening to Su Junyu's description, this "Ten Thousand Immortal Realm" was not just a link between several communication artifacts but also had the preliminary functions of the World Wide Web and file transfer, similar to the internet on Earth.

Su Junyu was pleased with Wang Qi's astonished expression and said with pride, "Heh, it scared you, right? This is also the law of our Wanfa Sect. From one law stems myriad laws, truly living up to its name."

The Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion is a grand magic artifact that the Immortal Alliance devoted itself to refining, based on the lifebound magical treasure "Bronze Immortal" of Elder Ji Turing, the Supreme Elder of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, and was further developed by the Carefree Practitioner of Wanfa Sect, the "State Hand of Cangsheng" Feng Luoyi, by borrowing Power from "Bronze Immortal."

The "Bronze Immortal" itself has quite a history. Centuries ago, during the chaos of the Demon Emperor, when the Immortal Dao was wavering, a Great Demon emerged from Fusang Island in the East Sea of Shenzhou. Originally a fierce tiger of Fusang, it obtained a fortune, activated its ancient bloodline, and cultivated into a force to be reckoned with. Its Demon Treasure, the Three Tigers Banner, could corrupt anything and was particularly effective against a practitioner's magic artifacts. Gathering a horde of Demon Disciples, it invaded Shenzhou. Due to the Daoist of Uncertainty, the Immortal Alliance couldn't spare the manpower to suppress it immediately, and it actually took over substantial territory. Eventually, Master Turing came forward with the "Bronze Immortal," methodically forcing it back to Fusang. Due to Master Turing, the Immortal Alliance could devote effort to suppress the rebellion led by the Daoist of Uncertainty.

In the end, the tiger demon was slain by the Heavenly Sword Cultivator Ao Haimo in Fusang. With Master Turing's actions, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, which was formerly an insignificant sect, leaped to become a great sect second only to the Five Extremes. Its ancient Mechanical Techniques underwent a transformation, grasping the essence of the Modern Method. After the war, Thousand Mechanism Pavilion stayed permanently in Fusang to guard against the potential return of the Fusang demons.

This story is full of praises and tears among the Shenzhou Cultivators, but...

What the hell is "Elder Ji"! Doesn't it feel awkward to address someone respectfully as "Elder Ji"? Would Alan Macsison Turing cry if he knew he's known like this in this world?

To suppress the urge to mock, Wang Qi changed the subject: "Brother Su, this story doesn't seem to involve Wanfa Sect yet?"

"Don't rush. Afterward, having meditated for a long time, Elder Ji actively invited peers to discuss the Dao in Fusang, hoping to further enhance the wonders of 'Bronze Immortal.' Senior Feng and my sect's previous Sect Leader Xi Baiche, who were helping the practitioners of Mysterious Palace and Light Hall investigate the Great Dao, were struggling without the support of Mathematics Magic Devices. Senior Feng was overjoyed when he saw the 'Bronze Immortal' and hit it off with Elder Ji..."

Wang Qi interrupted, "Stop, stop... let's use different words..."

And he got into a gay romance with him...

Su Junyu, not understanding the issue, continued, "In the end, they developed the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror. Originally, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion was just a small sect affiliated with Elemental Power Sect, but now it's a brother sect to our Wanfa Sect. After Senior Feng refined the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror, the Illusion Technique of Wanfa Sect was no longer weaker than any other sect, truly achieving 'from one law stems myriad laws.' There's nothing the disciples of Wanfa Sect can't do!"

While chatting, they had already approached the storage area. There was no one else around. Su Junyu lowered his voice suddenly: "By the way, Wang Qi, that ring on your hand, isn't it the one said to house the soul of an Ancient Method Mahayana?"

Wang Qi was startled: "You can tell?"

Originally, unless Zhen Chan had been scared witless by those Carefree Practitioners like Hai Senbao, to the point of almost losing control of his bodily functions, Li Ziye might not have noticed it himself.

Su Junyu said, "It's clearly stated in your personal brief, 'Possesses a ring magic artifact that holds the soul of an Ancient Method Practitioner, seemingly received Ancient Method inheritance from this residual soul.'"

Wang Qi exclaimed, "You actually go around sharing this kind of information?"

Su Junyu shrugged it off: "Every year, there are a few unlucky ones who come across things like Grandpa Ring, Grandma Necklace, Uncle Broken Artifact, or Little Girl Half-Finished Immortal Artifact. The Ancient Practitioner Sea is full of old cultivators who left measures to preserve a sliver of their soul before their demise. It's not unique to you."

Wang Qi was taken aback: "How many Long Aotians and counterculture underachievers are there in Shenzhou?"

Su Junyu, accustomed to Wang Qi's odd remarks, just gave him a strange glance: "You're actually one of the lucky ones. Those rings and necklaces with their old cultivation techniques, the newest are things cast away 6000 years ago. If you trust them, you're done for life."

Wang Qi tapped his ring with his left hand: "Old man, are there many residual souls of powerful beings passed down from ancient times?"

Zhen Chan's voice sounded embarrassed: "Ahem, over eighty thousand years of Immortal Dao History, even if there's one every hundred years, there would be over eight hundred. This isn't a unique spell either; with the right materials or treasures, even someone at the Nascent Soul Stage could cling to life for over a thousand years... but I can assure you, Mahayana Stage souls are indeed rare!"

Wang Qi felt a chill: "Old man, I'm really not used to you suddenly being so weak..."

Su Junyu leaned in: "It's actually a Mahayana? That ring is a rare treasure. It's a pity though..."

Zhen Chan, fearing the other might find out something was amiss, transmitted his voice directly to Su Junyu: "A pity about what?"

"It's a pity it's not a little girl. If it was the soft voice of a tender, sweet girl... tsk tsk, what a pity!"

Wang Qi nodded in agreement: "Well said."

Zhen Chan suddenly became furious, "You two youngsters, don't push people too far!"

Su Junyu ignored Zhen Chan and affectionately put his arm around Wang Qi's shoulder, "Brother, let me tell you something."

Wang Qi's whole body bristled, "What?"

"I've had this problem since I was a kid..."

"There's no way between us!" Wang Qi quickly broke free from Su Junyu and stood at a distance, full of wariness.

Su Junyu couldn't help but smile, "What are you thinking! What I mean is, since I was little, I've always liked collecting rare items. This ring, are you selling it?"

Do otaku from any world have a collection obsession?

However, Wang Qi shook his head, "Not for sale."

Although this ring was less practical to Wang Qi than an ordinary magic artifact, the blood feud of the Dabai Village villagers and Li Ziye's life-saving grace were both tied to this ring, so Wang Qi couldn't possibly sell it lightly.

Su Junyu just asked casually without any hope, and he certainly had no intention of forcing a purchase. He continued to lead Wang Qi forward, and soon they arrived in front of a storeroom.

The doors of the storeroom were tightly locked. Su Junyu performed several finger techniques and then brought his middle and index fingers together, drawing a complex geometric figure on the door. The vermilion door flashed with golden light, then creaked open.

Su Junyu sighed, "Because this locking technique is too complicated, most of the Immortal Alliance's storerooms are guarded by Wanfa Sect disciples—they can also double as accountants.

Wang Qi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Su, you just mentioned you are the True Inheritor of Wanfa Sect. Why would a true disciple work in a storeroom?"

Su Junyu smiled, "That's where you're uninformed. Brother, our practice at Wanfa Sect is different from other sects."

It turned out that Wanfa Sect specialized in mathematics. The exploration of mathematics didn't require experimentation like other sects, which meant there were hardly any cases where disciples accompanied their master teachers for long periods. Even the Bai Ze God Monarch, famous for doting on his juniors, only periodically checked his disciples' homework and then organized them to discuss problems.

Therefore, there were two ways of cultivation in Wanfa Sect. One was intensive retreat, focusing purely on theoretical mathematics, and the other was traveling the world in search of practical mathematical problems. It was evident that Su Junyu belonged to the latter. Realizing Bai Ze's Algorithm at the Indeterminate Card game was part of his practice, and managing the Immortal Alliance's resources as a treasurer was also his practice.

"Of course, without this job, it's really hard to buy cards."

Had Wanfa Sect already differentiated pure mathematics from applied mathematics? Wang Qi ignored Su Junyu's last remark and pondered.

After Su Junyu finished speaking, he led Wang Qi into the storeroom and said, "Every new disciple is uniformly issued the most basic magic artifacts. Of course, you don't need to pay anything now. The Immortal Alliance subsidizes a portion, and the rest will be deducted from the remuneration you earn after fulfilling your duties to the Immortal Alliance upon graduation—rest assured, by that time you'll at least be at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, and it will be easy to pay back the debts for these things."

Wang Qi nodded his head. Although he wore a rare Demi Immortal device on his hand, its functionality was truly ridiculous! Now, he finally had usable magic artifacts!

Su Junyu took items off the shelves and said, "One basic storage bag, twelve cube, able to reduce weight by ninety-five percent."

A "cube" is a unit of volume in Shenzhou, roughly equal to 1.2 cubic meters in his former world. A weight reduction of ninety-five percent meant that ten pounds of goods would only weigh eight ounces once placed in the bag.

"One portable spirit pool for commerce, with a capacity of a hundred stones, currently holding five stones."

A commerce spirit pool, like the one Xiang Qi lent him yesterday, could accumulate one hundred stones of spiritual power, equal to one hundred low grade spirit stones. According to Zhen Chan, a hundred low grade spirit stones were roughly the entire fortune of a Qi Cultivation Early Stage cultivator.

"A standard longsword, one vestment robe. Additionally, you may come here to collect one sharp-level weapon of your choice once you've decided on the weapon you wish to use. The vestment robe helps to clear your mind and aids your practice as if with divine assistance—also, you must wear this robe for classes and training, but during free time you can wear normal clothes..."

"Various books, all textbooks. I've put them in your bag for you."

...

Watching Su Junyu take out items one by one, Wang Qi was delighted and bouncing with joy.

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Dear readers, I'm truly sorry. The socializing before the New Year was more than I had anticipated, so there is only one update today.

I beg for your forgiveness.