Chapter 6

Wang Qi felt that he simply couldn't suppress the million galloping grass mud horses in his heart anymore.

So, he asked Li Ziyi, "Senior Li... Is your flying sword called 'Fatso,' 'Skinny,' or 'Little Boy'?"

Li Ziyi was stunned on the spot. Xiang Qi frowned and asked in confusion, "How does that not sound like a name for a flying sword? How did you come up with it?"

"Because these are the names of nuclear bombs, you Nuclear Sword Immortals!"

"Eh?"

This time it was Xiang Qi's turn to be confused.

Zhen Chanzi sighed, "This kid is just spouting nonsense again, ignore him."

Xiang Qi asked tentatively, pointing to her head, "Is... this what it's about?"

Wang Qi shouted, "Hey, don't call those who understand the joke crazy just because you don't get it, okay?"

Zhen Chanzi: "...Just pretend it's like that."

"Old man, which side are you on?"

Xiang Qi's face changed, "You ancient method cultivators... do you need to be crazy to enter the path? How disgusting!"

Zhen Chanzi couldn't help but roar in everyone's mind, "At least I am a normal person!"

Li Ziyi finally came to his senses. He stopped Xiang Qi, who was about to argue with Zhen Chanzi, and retracted his flying sword, "Alright, Junior Sister Xiang, now that the four seniors have gone to pursue Daoist Bu Zhun, what do you think we should do next?"

Wang Qi asked curiously, "What mission?"

Li Ziyi smiled, "To put it simply, it has something to do with you, young brother. The Ethereal Palace has an extraordinary ability to investigate in detail, even a peer-level Free and Easy Master would find it hard to sneak into the surroundings of an Ethereal Palace master. Daoist Bu Zhun's movement technique is unparalleled, and if he is not confined to a place, he cannot be captured. The Immortal Alliance's plan is to have a low-level cultivator with a direct Immortal Alliance identity approach him, to make him focus his attention on this low-level cultivator."

Wang Qi pointed at Xiang Qi, "So Immortal Xiang is here to attract his attention? By using her charm to draw the old man's attention?"

A sharp sound of a weapon breaking through the air, Xiang Qi's flying sword suddenly appeared in front of Wang Qi, pressing against his neck.

Xiang Qi's voice was icy, "Some things cannot be said lightly!"

"Ahahaha, I was just joking, Immortal, why take it so seriously?"

Li Ziyi smiled bitterly, "I said, you two... But we are indeed very troubled about how to enter the village reasonably without making Daoist Bu Zhun suspicious."

Xiang Qi huffed and recalled her flying sword.

Wang Qi, rubbing his neck, asked, "Then to avoid Immortal Xiang playing the role of a defector, rushing into the village in a panic, and then Senior Li going in to capture him?"

Li Ziyi shook his head, "We thought of that too, but there's a problem. To prevent Daoist Bu Zhun from noticing anything unusual and to prevent the few in the Immortal Alliance who sympathize with Daoist Bu Zhun from leaking information, both Junior Sister Xiang and I were temporarily dispatched from nearby. But I am a disciple of the Myriad Methods Sect."

Zhen Chanzi asked, "What is so special about the Myriad Methods Sect?"

"Disciples of the Myriad Methods Sect are the best at calculations, able to calculate myriad methods." Li Ziyi spoke with a hint of pride, "When disciples of the Myriad Methods Sect engage in battle, they either can't win, but if they can win, they absolutely won't give the enemy any chance to escape."

Xiang Qi continued, "At this time, the flow of heaven and earth's energy showed a slight change, and Senior Li calculated that there should be an ancient method cultivator completing the Heavenly Path cultivation in Dabai Village... Wait, ancient method is called Spirit Body, right? The Immortal Alliance has a special system to guide ancient method cultivators who unexpectedly inherit ancient traditions, so I went there."

Zhen Chanzi asked again, "Then how did you discover my concealment technique?"

He was embarrassed to call it a wonderful technique anymore.

Xiang Qi sneered, "Can that even be called concealment? Completely isolating the inside from the outside, not letting a bit of energy or intent leak? Hmph, even a stone or rotten wood participates in the subtle changes of heaven and earth's energy. By separating the inside from the outside, you make yourself stand out like a stone in a stream."

Wang Qi widened his eyes, "So you were just going along with the flow, pretending to be naive and getting information from me, just to stay there a bit longer?"

Xiang Qi nodded, "You're smart."

What the hell, who said the ancient people in another world have an IQ of only 9!

Li Ziyi said, "In any case, thanks to you, young brother, we have completed our mission. Junior Sister Xiang, should we stay here and wait for the seniors to return and then go to the Immortal Alliance headquarters together, or go directly to the nearest Immortal Alliance branch? And about young brother Wang Qi."

Xiang Qi's big eyes rolled around, "In my opinion, let's wait here for a while, okay?"

Li Ziyi asked, "Why?"

"We are here to assist the seniors, so we should let them take the lead. Besides, after this incident, the people of Dabai Village are likely to be quite frightened. If we stay here for a few days, it will serve as a form of comfort and also be a good deed."

Li Ziyi smiled and patted Xiang Qi's head, "Tell the truth."

Xiang Qi stuck out her tongue, "To go to the headquarters with four Free and Easy True Lords, what a grand affair! Besides, after staying in remote places for a long time, I always miss the prosperity of the headquarters."

"What about young brother Wang Qi?"

"Following the rules, it's just a year at most."

Wang Qi, hearing it was about him, couldn't sit still and shouted, "Hey! What do you mean by 'following the rules'? What do you mean by 'a year at most'?"

Li Ziyi explained, "According to the Immortal Alliance's rules, if an ancient method cultivator is found, they should be helped to change to the modern method. Ancient method cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage should participate in the Immortal Alliance's unified entrance examination for the various sects in June each year. On the 16th of the first month, various Immortal Alliance branches and sects will set up lecture halls to teach the methods that those seeking immortality need to learn."

Wang Qi: "I feel like I've seen this system somewhere... It's so strange..."

Li Ziyi said, "It's already late spring, and for young brother Wang Qi, time cannot be wasted..."

Xiang Qi waved her hand, "Senior Li, it's just some basic knowledge, either you or I can handle it."

Li Ziyi thought for a moment, "That's true. What do you think, young brother? I should say in advance, it's just basic knowledge, and the difference between what Junior Sister Xiang and I teach and what the lecturers teach is not much."

Wang Qi pondered for a while. If the Immortal Alliance's ascension examination is as he imagined, he's not afraid of anything. Exam preparation, he was very good at it in his previous life. However... comforting the villagers...

Wang Qi nodded, "Alright then."

Li Ziyi nodded, "According to you, young brother, where should we stay?"

Wang Qi said, "My ancestors still have some property, the house is quite spacious, I wonder if the two of you are interested."

"We will follow the host's convenience."

With that, Li Ziyi used his escape technique, using the escape light to carry Wang Qi and slowly flew towards Dabai Village, with Xiang Qi following closely behind on her flying sword.

Wang Qi asked, "By the way, Senior Li, you keep talking about ancient method cultivators and modern method cultivators, what's the difference between the two?"

Li Ziyi smiled, "Since we have nothing else to do, I'll tell you."

"Ancient method cultivation emphasizes 'stealing the essence of heaven and earth' and 'sages are great thieves of heaven,' aiming to absorb the energy of heaven and earth to build one's own small world. Modern method cultivation, on the other hand, emphasizes 'following the natural way,' borrowing the power of heaven and earth."

"Borrowing?" Wang Qi was puzzled, "If it's borrowing, then there must be a return... Does this mean returning the energy to heaven and earth?"

Li Ziyi shook his head, "Not at all. Didn't Junior Sister Xiang tell you? All things in the world participate in the natural flow of heaven and earth's energy. Do you know where this natural flow comes from?"

Wang Qi shook his head to indicate he didn't know.

Xiang Qi interjected, "The breathing of heaven and earth."

"The breathing of heaven and earth?"

Li Ziyi explained, "Heaven and earth exchange energy with the outside world. If we compare heaven and earth to a person, isn't this breathing? The simplest example is the power of the sun and stars, which all come from the outside world."

Wang Qi nodded, thinking to himself: This world even has the concepts of 'heaven and earth,' 'celestial bodies,' and 'universe.'

"Modern method cultivation is about integrating oneself into the breathing of heaven and earth, directly absorbing the pure and boundless energy from the outside world! This process not only does no harm to heaven and earth but also strengthens the breathing of heaven and earth, making this world more robust. In return, as the power of heaven and earth grows, we can more easily absorb the energy."

"And at higher levels, we can directly emulate nature, forming a complete inner world, rather than struggling to find one's own path like in ancient method cultivation."

Wang Qi nodded. Cultivation is about turning oneself into a 'small world,' able to live independently without the external world, and truly living as long as the world. If we compare the world to a farmer and the energy to eggs, then ancient method cultivation is like pushing over the farmer and taking all the eggs, while modern method cultivation is like borrowing the farmer's chicken to lay one's own eggs...

This sounds so perverted...

Just as Wang Qi's thoughts drifted to a farmer who thought, "What a big deal, I thought they were stealing my eggs," Zhen Chanzi spoke in admiration, "Impressive, the creators of the modern method are truly impressive. Who is the great being who created the modern method? Have they ascended to immortality?"

Li Ziyi shook his head, "The so-called creators of the modern method are not one person. Have you heard of the ancient cultivators Bigozi and Jimide?"

Zhen Chanzi's tone was uncertain, "They seem to be two great masters from ancient times."

Pythagoras and Archimedes, Wang Qi thought. Once he accepted this absurd setting, the correspondence was easy to guess.

"Primordial Heavenly Lord Bigozi and Geometric Demon Lord Jimide were both great mathematicians in ancient times. Their teachings were combined in ancient times, forming the foundation of the Myriad Methods Sect. The heart method of the Myriad Methods Sect is considered the orthodox of the modern method, and almost all modern method sects' techniques have the shadow of the Myriad Methods Sect."

"However, although the Myriad Methods Sect was the first to research the modern method, it was not the first modern method sect. The sects that truly developed the雏形 of the modern method were the Xuanxing Temple and the Tianling Ridge."

"The Xuanxing Temple is the most powerful sect in the current immortal path, skilled in meditating under the starlight and moonlight. From the founding of the sect by Master Gebai, the Xuanxing Temple has always produced many talented individuals. Master Gebai was once a low-level guardian of the ancient cultivation sect, the Holy Infant Sect, and gradually realized that the Heavenly Path cultivated by the ancient cultivators was not the true Heavenly Path. After a lifetime of depression, he finally decided to rebel against the Holy Infant Sect in his later years and founded the Xuanxing Temple to seek the ultimate truth. Therefore, the Xuanxing Temple was deeply persecuted by ancient method cultivators in its early days, and many of the first-generation disciples, such as Bruno, were killed in the pursuit of the path."

"On the other side, the sects that gradually established the modern method were the Spirit Beast Mountain and the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley. These two sects originally advocated not harming the living beings of heaven and earth in their cultivation, but could only ensure that they did not harm the living beings around them when absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. It was not until the appearance of the Natural Selection God Lord Darwin. The Natural Selection God Lord Darwin was a legendary figure of the Spirit Beast Mountain. Similar to Master Gebai, the God Lord was once an outer disciple of the Holy Infant Sect, and later realized that the ancient method path was not viable, so he rebelled and returned to the Spirit Beast Mountain."

"Due to the extensive interactions of the Myriad Methods Sect in ancient times, they could learn from the Spirit Beast Mountain, the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley, and the Xuanxing Temple, changing their own cultivation methods and eventually becoming a modern method sect. Due to the differences in philosophy, there were constant disputes between the modern method sects and the ancient method sects. At that time, even with the wonders of the modern method, they could not resist the large number of ancient cultivators. That period was extremely difficult for modern method cultivators."

Xiang Qi continued, "But then the modern method received a great fortune. A genius appeared on the far western island of the Divine Continent, the Primordial Force Master Newton! The Primordial Force Master was originally from the 'cultivation of strength' lineage of the ancient method..."

Zhen Chanzi: "The one who doesn't cultivate the Dao but specializes in strength and martial arts?"

Xiang Qi nodded, "Yes, but the Primordial Force Master felt his own insufficiency, joined the Myriad Methods Sect, and elevated the cultivation of strength to a level beyond technique and close to the Dao, forming his own lineage. It is said that the Primordial Force Master was favored by heaven and earth, and heaven and earth used a fruit to impart him three great principles, encompassing everything!"

"With the three great principles, the Primordial Force Master founded the 'Primordial Force Sect' in the central Divine Continent. His good friend Boyer established the Burning Gold Valley, his rival, the wandering cultivator Hu Ke, unified the Spirit Beast Mountain and the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley by reforming the basic techniques, forming today's Tianling Ridge. Later, the noble-born Burning Heaven Lord Kelvin gathered a group of heroes to establish the Burning Heaven Mansion."

Li Ziyi closed his eyes, seemingly lost in the distant past, the era when the modern method predecessors fought their way through a world of enemies, "The Primordial Force Master and his generation of geniuses completely turned the tide, and the modern method finally completely overcame the ancient method, becoming the orthodox of the Divine Continent!"