Exploring Immortality Cultivation

"Calm down, calm down..." Wang Qi took a deep breath, "It's no big deal, this is the set of '12 Monkeys,' not 'World War Z,' and it's not as serious as in 'Resident Evil'... There's still a way out of '12 Monkeys,' and besides, the Heart Demon Curse isn't lethal, it can't fundamentally twist a person..."

Right, stay calm, stay calm. Wang Qi, you can do this. It's time to show some of that protagonist's qi fortune!

Wang Qi paced around the room, "Think about it now, I can still be saved. Although in those apocalyptic movies, the scientists developing the virus either get killed by evil companies or by special government squads, my relationship with the authorities here is still not bad. At the worst, I can negotiate for a reprieve. Also, I'm not like those scientists in 'Resident Evil.' While I hold the Memory Body of the Heart Demon Curse, it's impossible for me to be infected by the curse."

Jarvis spoke up, "Sir, I recommend that you consider countermeasures rather than wasting time in soothing your emotions. The Heart Demon Curse is still spreading."

Wang Qi questioned, "Are you sure there's no mistake? It wasn't set up to automatically split when it accumulates enough power, was it? As long as you don't join those two frustrating sects, and don't directly worship a god, you shouldn't get infected... Could it be that there's a top-tier charlatan within the Circle of Reason sect?"

"There has been no change in the Circle of Reason, sir," Jarvis said. "There's a problem with the test subject Zhao Qingfeng."

"Broadcast Zhao Qingfeng's perception immediately!"

In just an instant, the illusion around Wang Qi changed. He was still in the courtyard of Zhao Qingfeng. Four out of the seven straight lines were here. Zhao Qingfeng stood in the center of the courtyard, eyes closed, his head tilted back, body emanating a pink spirit light. After a while, his arms lifted, as if holding something in front of his chest. Not long after, a divine power began to gather. A ball of pink spirit light soon coalesced in Zhao Qingfeng's palms.

Then the ball of pink spirit light detached from Zhao Qingfeng's body, floated upward unsteadily like a balloon. The pink glow of the spell's power gradually receded, becoming colorless and invisible, hard to perceive. Then, the invisible Heart Demon Curse zoomed into the street and randomly possessed someone.

Wang Qi's complexion suddenly changed.

The Heart Demon Curse wasn't out of control, but manipulated by Zhao Qingfeng. This was both good news and bad news.

The good news was that the curse hadn't mutated suddenly and completely lost control. The most frightening part of a biological weapon is its tendency to mutate into something even the developers have never seen. By then, any prepared vaccines and antibody serums would be ineffective, and antibiotics might not work either. But a bioweapon still under human control isn't as terrifying. As long as the antibody exists, there's always hope to get it.

The bad news was that the Heart Demon Curse was being controlled. A bomb that could go off at any moment when in someone's control is always more terrifying than one that isn't controlled by anyone.

It's over... this really is like 'Resident Evil'...

"Jarvis, when did Zhao Qingfeng gain this ability?"

"I do not know, sir," Jarvis replied. "You did not arrange for mechanical beasts to monitor the Banished Immortal test subject. And the surveillance of the Heart Demon Curse was compromised due to you carrying the Memory Body away, causing a ten-day gap."

"That means it definitely happened within these ten days," Wang Qi pondered. "The Immortal Dao Burning Book List? Although I managed to copy a large portion of the data last time through the Circle of Reason, I did not copy everything..."

"We need to find a way to get the laws that Zhao Qingfeng is using and then figure out how to counteract them," Wang Qi stood up. "Wait, before that, there's something else I need to do."

I have to prevent a Heavenly Sword from falling out of the blue sky and flattening the entire Divine Capital.

Feng Luoyi seldom had such an ugly expression.

At least Wang Qi had never seen him with this kind of expression before.

When Feng Luoyi first saw Wang Qi, he was initially congratulating Wang Qi for receiving the Dao Seed Award. However, Wang Qi brought up a message that made him have to take things seriously.

"Are you sure that only the Heart Demon Curse is out of control, and there's no Divine Plague Curse Technique involved?"

Wang Qi nodded, "Yes. I didn't use the Divine Plague Curse Technique on living people. Moreover, the Heart Demon Curse is an alternative Divine Tao, while the Divine Plague Curse Technique belongs to the Modern System's Soul Spell, the two are fundamentally different. Zhao Qingfeng wouldn't have been able to unearth the Divine Plague Curse..."

"Not able to? Wasn't your Heart Demon Curse initially one-of-a-kind? Have you ever thought about it being replicated by someone?"

Facing Feng Luoyi's accusations, Wang Qi honestly lowered his head, "I hadn't."

Feng Luoyi shook his head, "Forget it. I was the one who tacitly allowed your experiments from the beginning; I share the responsibility for bringing us to this point. Now is not the time for assigning blame. The question is, what do we do now?"

Wang Qi said, "The Anti-Heart Demon Spell was always part of my plan, and producing it ahead of time to deal with the crisis is also feasible."

Feng Luoyi pulled up Wang Qi's paper. This one hadn't entered the public online paper database but was in the secret archive; not many in Shenzhou had seen it. This was the comprehensive outline of the papers related to the Heart Demon Curse.

"First, I want to confirm that, as your paper suggests, the Heart Demon Curse is indeed very stable, right?"

Wang Qi nodded, "The Heart Demon Great Curse wouldn't easily undergo a mutation, because it is fundamentally an algorithm to eliminate discrepancies. It is unlikely to change entirely due to a person's consciousness—that is to say, the so-called 'mutation.'"

"Is it confirmed that it has very low lethality?"

"Compared to the Divine Plague Curse Technique, it's not worth mentioning; at least it definitely won't kill anyone, nor will it directly erase a person's self-awareness," Wang Qi said, "As long as one doesn't die, they can be saved."

Feng Luoyi pondered for a moment, "I can think of at least three methods to refine the cursed soul of those affected. The Heart Demon Curse twists the soul, but such a twisted soul just needs a simple transformation to become one's own mana, and there are no hidden dangers!"

Cultivation Techniques of the Demon Path could refine others' souls. However, the residual will within the souls could twist the refiner, possibly causing instability in the Qi mechanism or creating loopholes in one's heart. But the souls twisted by the Heart Demon Curse contained the purest thoughts, which wouldn't cause much pollution—at least not more than the Heart Demon Curse itself.

Although humans rely on the brain to think and the soul is not the main organ, losing the soul would cause a mortal's index of spiritual energy to plummet, the production of bioenergy from breathing would weaken, leading to comprehensive organ failure.

Wang Qi shook his head, "That's impossible. A mortal's soul simply cannot withstand such severe consumption, the loss far outweighs the gain from calling it from afar."

"Have you forgotten what you just researched?" Feng Luoyi said dissatisfied, "The Divine Tao Network System. Within the Ancient Method Divine Dao, there is a method of sacrifice; according to your theory, it means mortals divinize their souls and offer them to gods through the Divine Tao System in exchange for divine power ready-made."

It had to be admitted that, at present, these Great Cultivators thought much more profoundly than Wang Qi.

"Only if he has higher authority in this network, or is adept at Suggestion Technique to directly induce the victims to sacrifice," Wang Qi mused, "But it's still not very safe... I have higher authority in the Divine Tao Network and can contain this phenomenon."

Feng Luoyi asked, "So, in your opinion, what should be done with Zhao Qingfeng? His unauthorized action against mortals has crossed the Immortal Alliance's bottom line."

Wang Qi pondered, "Teacher, it's better not to take action until the Anti-Heart Demon Spell appears."

"Oh?"

"The Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell network is showing some kind of mutation that we don't yet understand. I suspect Zhao Qingfeng might change the laws within the network, which would ensure our absolute safety. If we arrest him rashly, he might realize something and directly erase the laws from his own memory. Moreover, Zhao Qingfeng's defection could cause further mutations in the network."

"What you mean is, we can't take action?"

Wang Qi said, "Not for the time being."

Feng Luoyi said angrily, "Wang Qi! You need to understand! Right now, we are fixing the mess you made! Are you still considering 'this empirical evidence is rare, so let's keep it going'?"

Carefree in his anger, the illusion immediately changed. Wang Qi only felt as if countless pieces of information were cramming into his body like piranhas. Biting his teeth, Wang Qi said, "Teacher... this is indeed a way to reduce uncertainties..."

"Hmph." Feng Luoyi withdrew his imposing energy and then said, "Alright, we'll do it your way this time."

Just as Wang Qi heaved a sigh of relief, Feng Luoyi said, "Don't rush. I have something to show you first."

With a wave of his hand, Feng Luoyi summoned a long sword into the environment. This sword-shaped Magic Artifact had no guard, not even a hilt; it was merely a Sword Embryo. This type of sword was extremely specialized, discarding the function of close combat to focus solely on long-ranged sword flight.

"The Heavenly Sword, Dongfeng Type Six, designed for long-range strikes. It has forsaken the function of condensing Sword Qi, instead using explosive Spiritual Power to harm others, which is very extreme. This isn't a Heavenly Sword forged for an individual Cultivator, but specifically for slaughtering cities and destroying nations," Feng Luoyi said earnestly, "This Heavenly Sword is under my control. Just now, it has already changed its locked area—you understand, right?"

Wang Qi swallowed hard, "Divine Capital..."

"While I know that perfecting a spell isn't something that can be done overnight, I also cannot overlook the wellbeing of Shenzhou. The Heart Demon Curse is infinitely harmful; once it spreads, no life in Shenzhou will be able to achieve the Dao, civilization won't be able to progress, equivalent to establishing an Earthly Divine Kingdom," Feng Luoyi said seriously, "If the Heart Demon Curse shows signs of going out of control, this Heavenly Sword will obliterate Divine Capital along with everything within a thousand miles!"

Wang Qi nodded, then asked, "So, may I inform other people in advance..."

"It's your choice to let Zhao Qingfeng go for now, reducing uncertainties," she responded, "So I need to reduce uncertainties as well—keep it confidential. At most, you can only tell Chen Feng and Chen Youjia, to help you with the research."

Wang Qi wished he could slap himself twice. Had he known it would come to this, he wouldn't have mentioned reducing uncertainties. He argued, "Junior Sister Chen is the daughter of the Sect Leader of Wanfa Sect, and Chen Feng..."

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "I will inform Chen Jingyun myself. I'll also coordinate with Yangshen Pavilion. But don't be mistaken, Wang Qi. In the face of a disaster that could ruin all of Shenzhou, even if it were my own son in Divine Capital, I would still launch this Heavenly Sword."

"Don't think of running away, Wang Qi. I indeed appreciate your talent, and because you showed intent to mend your ways, I'm giving you a chance. But if you run, there will be no place for you in Shenzhou."

"Besides, I must first set up a firewall against the Heart Demon Great Curse within the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm and make Divine Capital a local area network. You don't have much time left. When I'm free to take over everything, you better be ready to spend your time in the Criminal Law Department's Heavenly Prison until the Primordial Spirit Stage!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)