Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Du Bin paced anxiously into the courtyard. He found that the Empirical Department, usually bustling with activity, was eerily deserted. The cold glow of the empty room conveyed a sinister atmosphere.

Wang Qi stood in the center of the courtyard, holding two Spirit Rhinoceros Bottles in his hand, lost in thought. Du Bin cautiously approached and tested the waters, "Brother Wang..."

"What is it?" Wang Qi replied, his tone devoid of surprise, filled instead with a bureaucratic flatness.

Du Bin felt a sense of dread in Wang Qi's tone as he looked at him and tread carefully, "Mr. Zhao Qingfeng has invited you to a meeting, Brother Wang. He wants to discuss some matters of spells..."

"Oh, I know." Wang Qi nodded, then asked, "It's been over a year since I implanted the Artificial Law Foundation in you, hasn't it? How does it feel?"

For some reason, Du Bin felt his safety was becoming increasingly precarious. He nodded and replied, "It's actually quite useful..."

"Hmm, I've developed a new product recently; I want you to try it." As Wang Qi spoke, he inserted the memory body of the Heart Demon Curse into the belt slot and then unleashed a spread of curse light as blue as the washed sky. The Spell Spirit Avatar transformed into countless Gu Worms, buzzing wildly around Wang Qi, looking quite ferocious.

Du Bin stepped back, forcing a smile, "Brother Wang, I really don't need this—Ah!"

Before Du Bin could finish his sentence, a Gu Worm the size of a thumb transformed into a ghostly blue bullet, shooting directly towards the ancestral aperture in Du Bin's forehead.

Hair stood on end as Du Bin felt he was standing at a life-and-death crossroads. He couldn't fathom why Wang Qi had turned on him, but such betrayals were far from unusual in Divine Capital. With a push of his hands, Du Bin's formidable Moon Attribute magic power steamed and converged into a globular shape, as though a bright moon had risen into the heavenly vault. He shouted out and the moonlight surged forth like an eternal spring tide.

This move was both defensive and offensive, and represented the pinnacle of Du Bin's abilities.

But before Wang Qi, this attack was akin to a gentle breeze brushing one's face.

The Gu Worm, transformed into a streak of light, faced no obstruction. It too was an altered form of divine power, and the quantum tunneling effect allowed it to ignore most defenses. The force from Du Bin's attack was easily blocked by a layer of Gang Qi formed by the agglomeration of spiritual energy by the Gu Worms.

Du Bin felt a chill across his forehead as the Gu Worm burrowed inside. Then, the worm turned into an icy blue stream that flowed throughout his body, following the circulation of his magic power with each cycle, growing stronger every time. With each thought Du Bin harbored, his soul was further tainted blue.

As the icy invasion deepened, a chilling sense took root in his heart. It was so profound, all semblances of hope and luck within him dissipated, leaving him with no thought of escape.

Du Bin's legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees. Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes, and before long, he was sobbing and begging, "Spare my life!"

The Heart Demon Curse was the antithesis of the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell, stripping away all semblances of hope and positivity while amplifying despair, discouragement, desolation, and emptiness to their fullest. It was with this "Heart Demon Curse" and the terrifying doctrine of impending doom that the Hongyuan God had widely spread his teachings in Shenzhou.

Wang Qi had two slots on his belt. He also inserted the memory body of the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell into one. A pure white light bathed the area, and the spell's power of the second great curse began to invade Du Bin.

"Hmm, the erosion is indeed slower than I had anticipated, and the areas eroded by the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell are being re-eroded by the Heart Demon Curse... There is indeed some resistance," Wang Qi observed, pressing his hand on top of Du Bin's head, seeking to adjust the forces within him through the connection between the memory body of the Heart Demon Curse and the Spell Spirit Avatar. The flow of the Heart Demon Curse was finely tuned, shifting the focus of erosion quickly to the peripheral parts of the Soul Spirit Field. A protective layer, invisible and intangible, appeared about three or four inches around Du Bin.

Then, with a flick of his hand, Wang Qi conjured a clump of the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell's light and threw it at Du Bin. As the spell entered Du Bin's body, a burst of violet light appeared on the surface, and the power of the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell was repelled, eventually being neutralized and extinguished in the process.

"As long as it's not like that time during the cult eradication when too much Heart Demon Curse light was brutally injected at once, the normal mode of transmission won't pose a threat to him," Wang Qi nodded in satisfaction. After all, discussing toxicity without considering dosage is nonsensical, and antibodies don't guarantee security against all attacks. Some types of viruses, once inundated with a highly active viral solution, will still overcome any antibodies.

However, the fact that Hongyuan God had to resort to using the Entropy Increase Technique to burn all the powers of the Priest might also imply that his methods with the Heart Demon Curse were too rudimentary, unlike Wang Qi's precision aimed at the essence.

"Ah ah ah... ah ah ah!" Throughout the process, Du Bin screamed incessantly. Although theoretically, Wang Qi's experiments should not cause pain, Du Bin had been afflicted by the Heart Demon Curse and his mind inevitably wandered to the worst possibilities, suspecting that Wang Qi was out to kill him.

Before Du Bin could wet himself in fear, Wang Qi grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him from the ground, and steadied him on his feet, "Hey, I have a question for you, Brother Du, one I've been curious about for a long time. What's the relationship between Zhao Qingfeng's group and the Divine Capital Nobles?"

The development of the Anti-Heart Demon Spell would likely confront Zhao Qingfeng's affiliates. Knowing the stance of the local tyrants of Divine Capital was crucial. Moreover, if one wanted to experiment using the Divine Capital Nobles as a firewall, an understanding of their internal affairs was necessary.

Du Bin was weeping uncontrollably, bereft of any will to resist: "I... I really don't know! They... after Zhao Qingfeng arrived at Divine Capital, he was taken into the palace by the Imperial Family... and usually, it's the Nascent Soul Stage old monsters who deal with them. I really don't know! My ancestor instructed me to listen to those people... to fulfill their wishes as much as possible... That's the only way!"

"Arriving in the Divine Capital and immediately getting involved with the Royal Family?" Wang Qi slightly frowned.

The Yi Family of the Da Lian Royal Family, inheritors of the Daoist tradition of the Xuantian Sect from the Ancient Method Sect. Ten thousand years ago, when Zhen Chan was still alive, the Xuantian Sect was also a force not to be trifled with and somehow managed to find a lifeline under the rule of the Holy Infant Sect. During the great war between the Modern and Ancient Method, one of the elders of the Xuantian Sect defected to the Modern Immortal Path, and he was the ancestor of the Yi Family. In the chaos of the Demon Emperor, the Yi Family got even luckier by appearing obedient and was appointed as the Da Lian Royal Family after the Immortal Alliance reorganized the Mortal World.

The Yi Family's old ancestor, the Ancient Method Xuantian Sect elder who surrendered to the Modern Immortal Dao, was already close to the Unification Realm, making him one of the strongest among those who defected. All the other defectors got purged by the Immortal Alliance during the Demon Emperor's chaos, so he should be the strongest cultivator in the Divine Capital. Besides, the Yi Family also has a few slots on the Divine Separation Stage, not to mention a Primordial Spirit Master who could eradicate the Yi Family.

"Does every Banished Immortal get this treatment? Why didn't they come looking for me when I arrived?"

Du Bin honestly replied, "I only heard my father talk about this... The earliest Banished Immortal that came to the Divine Capital was Zhao Qingfeng. At that time, he had reached Golden Core Perfection and could not progress any further, so the Immortal Alliance sent him to the Divine Capital to become a steward—in fact, it was clear to everyone that the Immortal Alliance was throwing unwanted trash into the Divine Capital. He was taken in by the Royal Family for a face-to-face discussion as soon as he arrived. Then there was Lu Wan, who was dealt with in the same manner. But the cultivators who came after were all absorbed by the Banished Immortals themselves... "

Wang Qi pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know if Zhao Qingfeng has been out of town in these years? Where did he go?"

Du Bin pleaded with great difficulty, "Brother Wang... Old Master Wang, Lord Wang... I really have no idea! Zhao Qingfeng has been in the Divine Capital for twenty-three years, and I'm only twenty-two years old..."

"What are you doing kowtowing? Get up," Wang Qi shook his head. This Du Bin, although incompetent, used to not be such a pushover. The Heart Demon Curse was indeed terrifying in its ability to twist a person's mind.

Wang Qi further inquired, "Tell me, does your family have any slots on the Divine Separation Stage?"

Du Bin shook his head like a rattle-drum: "No, no!"

"Is that so..." Wang Qi nodded, "Do you have any other places in the Divine Capital? Like a mansion or something?"

"Eh?"

"Gather all your subordinates over there. I have important matters."

Realizing what Wang Qi intended to do, a chill emanated from Du Bin's very bones. He forced a smile and said, "Speaking of which... why haven't I seen Brother Chen and Miss Chen... "

"Oh, I tricked them into going out," Wang Qi stared at Du Bin and said, "I warn you, Brother Du, the Gu that I just planted in you is highly toxic. You understand."

About two hours later, all of Du Bin's subordinates were gathered in a small mansion in the south of the Divine Capital. Wang Qi counted about thirty people in attendance, all with cultivation, except for an old servant named Du Zhong in the Golden Core Stage, everyone else was in the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment stages.

"Young master, what has happened?" Du Zhong, who had the highest standing, noticed his young master's pale complexion and stepped forward to ask.

Du Bin shook his head, just as he was about to speak, but Wang Qi was quicker. With a wave of his sleeve, countless blue and eerie Gu worms flew out, heading straight for the crowd.

Almost everyone was invaded by the Gu worms before they could react, all their mana being tainted and their souls corroded beyond repair.

Only Du Zhong, exerting his mana, converted it into the True Water of Tianhe which protected his own body. However, the innate Quantum Tunneling Effect of the Five Pests Ultimate Curse made all defenses meaningless.

But, after all, Du Zhong was a Golden Core Cultivator, with Soul Perfection, mana harmony, Spirit United with the Core, impervious to a hundred calamities. Initially, the few Five Pests Ultimate Curse Gu that entered his body did contaminate his mana, but for a while, they couldn't spread further. His Golden Core generated a repulsion force against any alien power that tried to enter.

"Golden Core Cultivators are a bit more troublesome," Wang Qi thought silently, "The Du Family might even have a Nascent Soul Cultivator. It seems that I will have to use brute force to inject the Heart Demon Curse into them."

As Wang Qi was contemplating, thousands of Gu worms swarmed, desperately trying to penetrate into Du Zhong. Although Du Zhong roared repeatedly, attempting to repel the Gu and attack Wang Qi, his mere Golden Core was no longer a threat in front of Wang Qi. Soon, Du Zhong was seized by despair, no longer resisting.

Wang Qi announced, "Gentlemen, you have all been afflicted by a kind of Gu worm. This Gu worm, you see, can refine a person's mana. Try it and see if your mana has increased a bit. Of course, this thing isn't entirely harmless, and I'm not that kind-hearted. Just follow my orders if you want to live. I'm really saving your lives here!"

Trembling, Du Bin asked, "Brother Wang, what are you going to do next?"

Wang Qi smiled and said, "Pay a visit to your family with a gesture of goodwill."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)