Chapter 16

Li Ziyeh finally didn't wait for the sunshine he liked.

In the early hours of the morning, this disciple of the Myriad Dharma Gate took his last breath. After confirming Li Ziyeh's death, Wang Qi sighed, "To be honest, you didn't die heroically at all, Senior Brother Li. It would have been better to say you didn't regret it with determination."

Zhen Chanzi spoke up, "You..."

Wang Qi laid Li Ziyeh's body flat on the ground, then took two steps back and sat down, "Alright, old man, now let's talk about what's between us."

Zhen Chanzi was silent, "Nothing to say."

Wang Qi sneered, "In other words, you don't deny that this can be blamed on you, right?"

"Indeed."

"In other words, you lied to me."

"You've been deceived before."

"Indeed." Wang Qi returned to his usual expression, "But I'm really angry now."

"Um." Zhen Chanzi's tone was neither happy nor angry, "I've been betting all along that you wouldn't easily encounter someone holding another piece of that set of immortal artifacts—after all, the chance of you meeting the Rending Heaven Daozhu is extremely low."

"Then what did he use to sense you?"

"A replica of the immortal artifact stolen by the Rending Heaven Daozhu. If it only needs to sense other immortal artifacts, the cost of the replica isn't too high. However, in ancient times, everyone was afraid of others seizing their opportunities, so no one used this method."

In ancient times, cultivators only cared about themselves. For a sliver of opportunity, it was common for relatives to turn against each other, masters and disciples to kill each other, and couples to harm each other.

"But, no matter what, if you had told me about this earlier, I might not have worn this thing all the time." Wang Qi took off the ring and said, "If I had left this thing at home, I wouldn't have been in danger."

"Now you know the truth. If you throw away the ring, I can't blame you."

Wang Qi smiled, held the ring in his palm, raised his hand as if to throw it, and asked, "One last question, what is the true function of this ring?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You don't know the function of a magical treasure from your sect?"

Zhen Chanzi smiled bitterly, "The patriarch bought it from a scattered cultivator who didn't recognize its value. The known functions are only to accelerate the absorption of the essence of heaven and earth, assist in minor spells like the Breath Concealment Technique, sense other parts of that set of immortal artifacts, and contain a soul."

"I see." Wang Qi put the ring back on his left ring finger.

Zhen Chanzi, "What do you mean? You know this ring is useless to you and even a隐患, yet you still want to keep it?"

Modern cultivation methods are far superior to ancient ones, and Wang Qi's talent in modern methods is also extraordinary. Choosing modern methods is a sure thing. Modern cultivators absorb celestial energy rather than the essence of heaven and earth, so the first function of the ring is useless for modern cultivators; the spells enhanced by the ring are relatively low-level in ancient methods, and modern spells, which are much more difficult than ancient ones, are too challenging for the ring. As for containing a soul? There's already one inside, and unless Zhen Chanzi is willing to come out, this function is also useless.

As for the remaining one, it's a potential hazard.

Wang Qi supported himself with his right hand, leaned back slightly, and raised his left hand, holding the ring up to his eyes: "No matter what, you've been with me for many years. I didn't take you as my master, and you didn't have to bare your heart to me. This accident, let's just forget it. Besides, as a Great Enlightenment cultivator, your experience is still useful. If you're willing to speak openly in the future, I can still fulfill my promise to reshape your body if I ever attain great methods."

Zhen Chanzi was skeptical, "Is it that simple?"

"Do you not trust my character?" Wang Qi looked at the ring with a half-smile.

"It's not a character issue, but... your purpose isn't that simple."

After Zhen Chanzi finished speaking, he realized that Wang Qi's smile was somewhat sinister.

Wang Qi looked at Li Ziyeh's body and said, "Indeed, it's not that simple. Without you, I wouldn't know where to find the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao."

Zhen Chanzi was shocked, "You're crazy?"

Wang Qi pondered for a moment, "What if I report to the modern sect?"

"Are you using yourself as bait and asking modern experts to protect you?" Zhen Chanzi quickly figured it out: "If the first few attempts fail, the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao will only see it as a trap, and they will still treat you as a trap even if you walk around openly. If they send a top expert the first time, modern cultivators will likely have enough time to react with their advanced preparations. The only risk seems to be losing an immortal artifact that is completely useless to you—and this artifact is also useless to other modern cultivators."

"What do you think?"

Zhen Chanzi said, "If we hadn't talked tonight and Li Ziyeh hadn't gone out unexpectedly, I might have thought it was a good idea."

Wang Qi frowned, "Why?"

"Li Ziyeh's combat strength is stronger than the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao's Nascent Soul. Even with the mixed Nascent Soul, Li Ziyeh still has a chance to win. So, if they want to win, their only chance is to seriously injure Xiang Qi first, then have three Foundation Establishment cultivators set up an array and use the girl as bait to lure Li Ziyeh into the array, and defeat him with the array. This strategy requires Li Ziyeh and Xiang Qi to be separated. Who could predict the exact time Li Ziyeh would leave?"

Wang Qi suddenly understood, "The passing Golden Core! You mean there's a traitor within the modern sect."

Zhen Chanzi said, "There's another strange point. Modern cultivators have very low resource requirements and no reason to betray the currently dominant Immortal Alliance for a little benefit."

"What if it's not just a little?"

Zhen Chanzi denied, "Impossible. Ancient cultivators consume vast resources. Even large sects don't have much surplus."

Wang Qi thought for a moment, "So, you used to live a tight life, right?"

"Indeed, I do admire the creators of modern methods. They don't rely on resources, hehe." Zhen Chanzi laughed twice and continued, "But there's another strange point. The academic systems you mentioned last night sound practical. But have you considered why modern Immortal Dao hasn't developed similar systems?"

Wang Qi didn't hesitate, "The obstruction of feudal forces, conservative factions, and stubborn factions."

Zhen Chanzi sneered, "Fool! The great powers who created modern methods from ancient ones wouldn't be bound by ancient systems."

Wang Qi scratched his head, "Science students don't understand politics?"

"…What do you mean?"

"Basically, bookworms don't understand power tactics."

"The possibility is low." Zhen Chanzi said, "Since spreading knowledge is greatly beneficial to the development of modern Immortal Dao, but the leaders of modern cultivators are hindering, or at least hindering the spread of knowledge among low-level cultivators, there is only one reason."

Wang Qi really couldn't understand what Zhen Chanzi was getting at, "Speak."

"Modern cultivators are facing a great enemy and cannot casually reveal the fundamentals of their cultivation methods."

Wang Qi was surprised, "That's impossible. According to Li Ziyeh's description, modern cultivators have comprehensively surpassed ancient cultivators. Now, they have to secretly and laboriously kill two talented disciples, which doesn't seem like they have a strong force."

Zhen Chanzi whispered, "Indeed, ancient cultivators can now give the opportunity of immortal artifacts to Nascent Soul disciples to increase their chances of hitting a lucky break, indicating a very bad situation. This is another strange point. Where is the enemy? The demonic path, which can devastate a thousand miles with one person's success, has been suppressed since fifty thousand years ago; the demon race became a hunting target for humans twenty thousand years ago; the sea dragons, though powerful, cannot come ashore... Where is the enemy?"

"Tsk tsk." Wang Qi looked at the ring and said, "So, in your eyes, modern Immortal Dao is completely untrustworthy?"

"Not at all. From Li Ziyeh and Xiang Qi, modern Immortal Dao should not cut corners in cultivating disciples. Entering a modern sect through normal channels is fine. Don't do things that risk your life using their strength."

Wang Qi nodded, "It seems keeping you around is quite useful, old man. Then, let me ask you another question, what kind of sect is the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao, and how strong is their strongest person?"

"The Supreme Rending Heaven Dao, one of the most domineering sects in ancient methods." Perhaps because the name of his enemy was mentioned, Zhen Chanzi's tone was somewhat gloomy, "Not just in actions, but also in inheritance. The ancient inheritance, the 'Supreme Rending Heaven Dao Book,' is the most domineering cultivation method in the history of Immortal Dao, one method out and all others broken... Heh, I didn't expect to be suppressed by their 'myriad methods' today."

"How much of the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao's skills did this Nascent Soul learn?"

"The stronger the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao's cultivation, the more miraculous it becomes. This one is at most a true disciple, and not a very favored one." Zhen Chanzi was quite gleeful about the death of a Supreme Rending Heaven Dao disciple, "If it were a Great Enlightenment, it would be basically invincible at the same level. Ten thousand years ago, I was ranked first in the world alongside the Rending Heaven Daozhu. Modern methods have only risen for about two thousand years, and in the eight thousand years from my Cloud Tower to the birth of modern methods, it's not surprising for three or four more Great Enlightenments to appear—unless they were killed by modern cultivators."

Wang Qi pondered, "If I cultivated ancient methods, reaching Great Enlightenment wouldn't be enough to defeat a Great Enlightenment of the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao. If I cultivate modern methods, even a great master might not be able to defeat a Great Enlightenment of the Supreme Rending Heaven Dao."

"You should know that revenge requires patience."

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and weak sunlight pierced through the clouds. Wang Qi picked up Li Ziyeh's storage bag, stood up, and stretched, "My body is stiff... Old man, I should have said, I just want to be happy."

"I know."

"If I always feel I owe someone something, I won't be happy. Things that make me unhappy should be ended as soon as possible."

After a while, Zhen Chanzi sighed, "Suddenly, I feel you're actually a normal person now."

"Before, I thought this world was crazy, so I went crazy too. Today, I found out the world isn't crazy, so I should be happy, but my brain is acting up." Wang Qi said calmly, "Now, I'm not happy."

This vague statement made Zhen Chanzi want to ask more. Wang Qi continued, "Those who make me unhappy, I'll make them suffer even more." After saying this, he looked at the sky, feeling it was clear enough, and started rummaging through Li Ziyeh's storage bag.

"What are you doing? Spirit ink, spirit paper... Kid, can you draw talismans?"

Zhen Chanzi watched Wang Qi take out a pile of things from Li Ziyeh's storage bag and felt very curious.

"No, I want to copy something."

"Are you wasteful?" Zhen Chanzi couldn't help but criticize, "These are all high-quality spirit paper and spirit ink!"

Wang Qi finally took out a stack of paper from the storage bag, "This."

Zhen Chanzi was stunned, "This... is the manuscript of the Inaccurate Daoist!"

"You can't miss out on benefits. Xiang Qi knows about this stack of manuscripts, so I can't keep it privately."

Zhen Chanzi warned, "This isn't a secret manual. This is the deduction of a Transcendent cultivator, incomplete and without accompanying cultivation methods. Can you understand it?"

Wang Qi laughed, not answering.

If the speculation is correct, then the Inaccurate Daoist's cultivation method must have some connection with the theory of the scientist Heisenberg on Earth.

Do you know where I leveled up in my past life? The Niels Bohr Institute, the holy land of the Copenhagen School, the place where the scientist Heisenberg fought!