Chapter 42: Immortals and Mortals Can Not Coexist
Term change: Five Spiritual Sensing Techniques > Five Spirit Qi Sensing method
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"I have no interest in cultivating to become an immortal."
The expression Xiao Heng had when he said these words was still vivid in Li Fan's memory.
How much time had passed since then? How did Xiao Heng manage to successfully expel the miasma from his body and directly break through to the Foundation Building stage?
Li Fan was filled with shock and confusion.
Li Fan read the letter sent by Xiao Heng repeatedly, then went out to inquire about the situation before reluctantly accepting this reality.
It turned out that although Li Fan had reassured him that the rumors of smuggling to the island were aimed at the Heavenly Treasure Tower, Xiao Heng remained uneasy and sleepless after returning home.
Every time he closed his eyes, he seemed to see the terrifying scene of immortals descending from the sky and slaughtering every one of the refugees on the island.
Xiao Heng was like this for several days.
In deep pain, Xiao Heng finally made up his mind.
To be able to sleep soundly and to become a cultivator, not having to live in fear every day, he seriously began to practice the Cleansing Heart Mantra.
Unexpectedly, when Xiao Heng focused, his progress was indeed astonishing.
With the help of medicines, it took less than a month for him to completely expel the miasma from his body.
Afterwards, he felt the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth intimately wandering around him as if it were alive.
He was deeply captivated by this sight and immersed himself in it.
Feeling as if he had a good night's sleep, he succeeded in guiding the energy into his body.
At first, he was a bit uncertain whether he had truly become the legendary cultivator.
But when he tried to get intimate with a maid at home, he suddenly felt a palpitation and instinctively slapped her to death. After this incident, Xiao Heng finally confirmed that he had indeed become a cultivator.
Immortals and mortals must be separated.
Although he had already become a Qi Condensation cultivator, Xiao Heng was at a loss about what to do next.
So, he went to meet the guardian immortal of Liuli Island.
Unfortunately, at that time, He Zhenghao was busy presiding over the Pure Body Spirit Pool and couldn't break away.
Xiao Heng could only go back home and wait patiently.
After Li Fan left the spirit pool and He Zhenghao finally had some free time, Xiao Heng finally met him.
Upon hearing Xiao Heng's experience, He Zhenghao carefully investigated and confirmed that Xiao Heng was not lying.
He was first overjoyed, then repeatedly slapped his thigh, appearing regretful.
After a while, he cheered up and was eager to take Xiao Heng to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Xiao Heng asked if he could bid farewell to his friends, and He Zhenghao naturally agreed.
Afterwards, Xiao Heng said his farewells to the people leaving the realm, and then left.
As for Li Fan, Xiao Heng originally intended to come.
But he also knew that Li Fan was committed to cultivation and had succeeded in purifying his body after more than three years.
Moreover, he had stated in front of Li Fan not long ago that he had no interest in cultivating. Yet now, in the blink of an eye, he had become a Foundation Building cultivator!
Xiao Heng didn't know how to face Li Fan. Additionally, he was afraid of startling Li Fan, so he just sent a letter.
Xiao Heng was very grateful for Li Fan's help, so he said he would wait for him on Ten Thousand Immortals Island and would definitely repay Li Fan when they met.
"What I have today is all thanks to the protection of you."
"Upon hearing that you had successfully expelled the miasma, I believed that your breakthrough to Foundation Building is imminent."
"Junior will go ahead and await your esteemed arrival on Ten Thousand Immortals Island."
"If, on the day we meet, you have any requests, even if I must die a thousand times, I will not decline."
"Heng respectfully bows again."
...
Li Fan put down Xiao Heng's letter and let out a sigh.
Was this the legendary genius?
Being able to break through to the Foundation Building stage by accident, without any help, just relying on one's own efforts.
He could even feel the intimacy of the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth...
Although Li Fan had long known that people in the cultivation world had varying aptitudes, and he knew that his own talent wasn't high, this feeling of having such a genius around him...
It really made him feel uneasy.
It seems that Xiao Heng's worries were not unfounded. If he had suddenly appeared in front of me just after successfully expelling the miasma, I might have lost my composure.
Li Fan smiled bitterly.
However, it was only a slight loss of composure.
Li Fan knew clearly that his reliance was never on his own talent, but on the countless chances of starting over that [Truth] gave him.
With [Truth] in hand, no matter how talented the individual, he had confidence in crushing them.
It's just that this process might be a bit long and require careful planning from lifetime to lifetime.
The Cleansing Heart Mantra was activated, and Li Fan's chaotic mind gradually calmed.
He opened "Five Spirit Qi Sensing" gifted by He Zhenghao and carefully studied it.
The book recorded that in ancient times, there was a concept of spiritual roots.
Back then, only ordinary people with spiritual roots could cultivate.
There were ordinary spiritual roots of the five elements - gold, wood, water, fire, and earth - as well as unique attributes like thunder, wind, darkness, and others.
For individuals with a single spiritual root, the early stages of cultivation were fast. By focusing on the corresponding elemental techniques, they could easily achieve mastery.
For those with multiple spiritual roots, progress was slower. They needed to balance various attributes, often exhausting their energy without much success. However, if they were blessed with exceptional talent, having multiple spiritual roots allowed them to excel in various areas, often surpassing those with a single spiritual root in the same realm.
However, these were all old challenges from ancient times.
In the ancient cultivation world, they emphasized the unity of heaven and man.
Spiritual roots were gifts from the heavens, and only the fortunate ones blessed by the heavens could feel the laws of the world and had the qualifications to cultivate and ascend to immortality.
However, the population of the mortal world was vast, and those with spiritual roots were still a minority.
For the majority, becoming a cultivator was an elusive dream.
How unfair was this?
Fortunately, in ancient times, there was an Immortal Master who taught a new Dao!
"Five Spirit Qi Sensing" recorded that in those times, the Immortal Master generously taught the path of immortality to countless hopeless ordinary people.
The Immortal Master once said: "If I desire to ascend to immortality, why should I beseech the heavens? If the heavens do not grant it, I will take it for myself!"
A mortal seeking longevity didn't need to achieve harmony with heavens and earth, but instead plunder them!
So, the Immortal Master set out the clear principles and explained his path to everyone.
It was also the path followed in the current cultivation world.
The path to immortality was as follows:
Absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and the earth to condense Qi;
Consume a Heavenly Treasure to establish the foundation;
Capture a law of the heavens and the earth to refine the Golden Core;
Seize a subworld of the heavens and the earth to form the Nascent Soul;
Extract the marrow of the heavens and the earth to transform the soul;
Slaughter the soul of the heavens and earth to integrate the Dao;
Sacrifice the heavens and earth to achieve immortality!
...
With a thud, the "Five Spirit Qi Sensing" fell to the ground.
Trembling, Li Fan picked it up, unable to hide his awe.
The cultivation method in this world was completely different from what he had anticipated.
In fact...
It was somewhat astonishing.
No wonder, since he encountered cultivators in this world, he had always felt something strange.
It seemed like the heavenly laws of this world held great malevolence towards cultivators.
Whether it was the rule that different cultivation techniques couldn't be cultivated simultaneously, the strange phenomenon of a cultivator's body illuminating the sky for thousands of miles like a broadcast after death, or the peculiar Immortal-Mortal Miasma within a mortal's body that posed significant harm to cultivators.
All these hinted at this fact.
Now, at this moment, after Li Fan had come into contact with the cultivation world, the mystery was finally unraveled.
"Defy the heavens and the earth to achieve eternal life!" Li Fan murmured slowly, exhaling a long breath.
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TL Note: The MTL I read initially was pretty bad at translating realm names and the MTL sources I'm editing now are conflicting with each other, so I'm still not entirely sure of my translations of the higher cultivation realms. Tentatively, they'll be Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Dao Integration, and Immortal God (particularly unsure on this one), but this is subject to change.