Applied Immortality

Wang Qi trusted Immortal Institute’s education. At the very least, he was familiar with the typical representations of demons, monsters, and other entities found in the Divine Province. But he couldn’t for the life of him determine what particular oddity included the insane Yang Jun.

Incredible strength, check. Searing heat all over, check. Ridiculous recovery speed and writhing gray tissue, check and, ugh, check. [But what’s that about delirium…] 

Wang Qi could swear he never heard of anything as sickening as this abomination.

As Wang Qi was admiring the extent of this freak of nature, Zhen Chanzi spoke up. “I may have some idea.” 

Wang Qi sent back, “What?”

“I may have some theories as to why Yang Jun turned like this.”

Wang Qi was frantic. “Well, spit it out!”

Zhen Chanzi knew next to nothing about modern cultivation, but as an old ten thousand-year-old Great Ascension fossil, he ought to have seen his fair share of oddities.

No amount of deviation could lead Yang Jun down this path. Arts Archive’s mental arts underwent countless improvements, nearly mitigating the risk of ever going raving mad. So long as no one was suicidal like Wang Qi, Golden Core was in the cards for all students, at minimum. Even in the rare chance of cultivation deviation, the worst that could happen was resetting to a clean slate and restarting cultivation anew, but certainly not turning into a walking, boiling tumor like Yang Jun.

The highest among them was demonic possession.

Zhen Chanzi picked up on his thoughts and denied them. “No, I’ve never heard of a possession ending up like this, nor of devils. But I did hear of some similar events among ancient cultivators.”

“What?”

The high heat surpassed Celestial Entropy. Zhen Chanzi confirmed once that even the strongest fire cultivation method couldn’t come close to Celestial Entropy. [Now he’s telling me ancient cultivation is the cause of Yang Jun’s state?]

Zhen Chanzi said, “Ancient cultivation has a saying: Forty-nine Innate Paths. The goal of every cultivator is to master all forty-nine of them. All magical arts are but a crude application of these paths. Look at Yang Jun. All magical arts break down on contact. He can even make another cultivator’s spiritual power run amok. This is the Innate Destruction Path in ancient cultivation.” 

“Destruction path? Innate too?” Wang Qi sported a mocking smile. “Ha-ha.”

Zhen Chanzi snapped. “You can look down on me, modern cultivation can look down on ancient cultivation, but the Forty-nine Paths were passed down by descending immortals in the very far ancient times! Everything and anything falls within these Forty-nine Paths!” 

Wang Qi asked, “Then which path does modern cultivation fall into?”

Zhen Chanzi turned bashful. “External path.”

“Huh?”

“Heavenly Dao is whole through the Fifty Paths, with only Forty-nine Paths in use by the world around us. The Forty-nine Paths are enough to explain all creation between heaven and earth. Yet there are few minor aspects outside of their influence. Immortals refer to them as external paths…” 

Wang Qi’s sneer only grew. “Say what now? So you’re telling me the sum of the Forty-nine Paths can’t match one external path?”

“Heavenly Dao is infinite… Maybe you delved into the ‘byway’ a little too far…”(Tamon: from the Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese divination text. It describes a system of cosmology and philosophy intrinsic to the ancient Chinese cultural belief. The numbers have deep meaning to how the world works. The reference here has many interpretations. One is used to convey that the path forward is defined, but many always want to take detours. Another is that this fiftieth way is the final path that only humans can access.) 

“Then why the hell did Yang Jun up and learn this super duper ancient cultivation path?”

Zhen Chanzi sounded fanatical. “This isn’t cultivated. No mental art could ever get you to this stage. As I see it, he is receiving Dao’s aura directily…”

“Don’t make me laugh. Dao’s aura? Ha-ha-ha…”

Wang Qi’s eyes flitted to the sparse trees nearby, laughing in his mind as Yang Jun burned the vegetation around to find him. “Your Dao’s understanding must’ve loosened a screw up there.”

There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. 

“It is serene. Empty.

Solitary. Unchanging.

Infinite. Eternally present.

It is the mother of the universe.

For lack of a better name, people call it the Dao.

Man follows the earth.

Earth follows the universe.

The universe follows the Dao.

The Dao follows only itself.” (Tamon:  excerpt from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.)

[Dao itself doesn’t exist. The word ‘Dao’ is something humans imposed on it, labeling it.]

[Dao is serene, empty, with neither sound nor form. That’s the most basic rule.]

[Dao follows nature, and just that.]

[How could such Dao have an aura?]

[How could such Dao twist Yang Jun into this abomination?]

“Everything you can sense, and everything that has an aura, only proves that it is no Dao!”

Wang Qi cast a quick glance as Yang Jun approached. [I should’ve known the old coot was senile. I can only rely on myself.] 

Wang Qi and Yang Jun were close to each other. The Waveform Essence explosion wasn’t large. Seeing it as a mere game of Hide and Seek, a three-year-old could find Wang Qi. Despite Yang Jun’s delirium, he found Wang Qi as well, but was taking a long time to do it. Wang Qi, too, had no way of escaping. With how close he was, any movement would attract Yang Jun.

Zhen Chanzi sighed from the ring. “Forty-nine Paths can explain anything. Each and every encounter and event that I experienced can be summarized by these paths…”

“Shut it. This isn’t the time.” Wang Qi glared at Yang Jun, calculating another way of fighting back.

[Different paths, different views.] Wang Qi came to the conclusion that a predetermined, grand, and limitless concept could explain everything. But what’s the point in that? [You have this ultimate concept in your mind, but what can you do with it?]

Based on the information theory of physics, which states that ‘information is the resolution of uncertainty,’ Zhen Chanzi’s ‘includes everything’ contained zero information and had no practical significance.

Rather than waste time on Zhen Chanzi’s meaningless theory, he was better off thinking a way out of this mess.

“I know waiting for Ah’Zimiao to find the Foundation Establishment cultivator is the best choice, but he can spot me when he gets close. I better come up with a way to fight back.” 

Wang Qi thought calmly. Because of the close combat episode he had with Yang Jun, he now had a vague idea of what he was up against.

Entropy amplification, an ability similar to Celestial Entropy, raised the disorder level of spiritual power without limit.

Spiritual power was a complex system. The more chaotic spiritual power became, the more erratic Yang Jun’s physiological functions would react.

“Tch, it’s obviously a Celestial Entropy out of control…” Wang Qi muttered to himself, “but he clearly has a weak spiritual power.” 

From the moment Yang Jun’s spiritual power entered his body and made Wang Qi lose control of his own spiritual power, he knew that despite Yang Jun’s high disorder rate, only a little bit was needed to throw his own in a mess. It was so little and thin that it made one believe Yang Jun achieved Reaching Heaven just minutes ago.

“This is the power of Dao!” Zhen Chanzi didn’t know when to quit. 

Wang Qi ignored him, staring at Yang Jun.

“But I clearly sensed him absorbing large amounts of spiritual energy.”

Only upon a closer look did he discover that Yang Jun was isolated from the breath of the world. He was like an ancient cultivator, sucking up the surrounding spiritual energy. The amount he absorbed equaled a late Qi Refining cultivator amidst cultivation. 

[Where is all that spiritual energy going?]

“There can be only one explanation.” Wang Qi was certain. “He’s burning the spiritual energy to release its power.”

—

Author note: with this chapter, I pay respect to the Great, Immovable King Stephen Hawkings. Hawkings mentioned in his book, The Grand Design: “With constant scientific advancement, philosophical questions can gradually be turned into scientific questions.”