Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 171 - 133: Everyone Has a Story

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"Alright, it has been over ten thousand years; the landscapes have changed too much." Zhen Chan was somewhat frustrated, "It was supposed to be under the cliff."

The place where Wang Qi was standing was a river valley. Over ten thousand years of water erosion, the riverbed had sunk, forming this not-so-shallow, not-so-deep valley. For some reason, the rock behind Wang Qi had maintained its form against the flowing water.

Zhen Chan guided Wang Qi, "Place your hand on that rock."

When Wang Qi pressed his right palm on the glowing boulder, something strange happened. The brilliance on the blue rock started to flow and converge. Eventually, layers of cyan light condensed into the shape of a sword in Wang Qi’s hand.

The rock, having lost the protection of the cyan light, broke and collapsed like an eggshell.

"Is this... the sudden loss of spiritual energy causing the material’s energy level to drop, and the molecular bonds, chemical bonds to suddenly break?" Wang Qi, curious, patted a piece of the rock. The physical properties of the rock, which had completely changed, could no longer withstand any force and broke into powder on the spot.

In this world, spiritual energy is the index of energy; after losing spiritual energy, the energy contained in the material also decreases. This is also why places with thin spiritual energy often have poor and dangerous landscapes.

Wang Qi looked at the longsword in his hand. This magic artifact was three feet long and about three inches wide, a standard one-handed sword.

"The sword’s name is Kunshan, mid grade... oh, is it now a top grade heavy artifact?" Zhen Chan introduced, "Refined from the spirit of mountains and rivers, it becomes incredibly heavy and powerful when excited by mana, and can also merge into the mountains and rivers, concealing itself. The most precious aspect of this sword is that it can enhance itself by seizing the dragon vein powers of famous mountains and rivers. Although it is a heavy artifact, it still has the potential to advance."

Wang Qi puzzledly asked, "Old man, is this yours?"

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This sword had been sealed here by someone, and the special hand mnemonic that Zhen Chan had just given him was precisely the method to unseal it.

However, Wang Qi did not quite understand; such a magic sword, for a Mahayana Cultivator, was nothing significant. It could be used to bestow upon disciples, or to capture the vitality of the landscape to let it evolve continuously—wouldn’t it be much better to seal and cultivate it, bury it in the Kunlun Dragon Vein instead of placing it in this nameless water vein?

This did not seem to align with the Ancient Method Practitioners’ motto of being ruthless for gains.

Sensing Wang Qi’s confusion, Zhen Chan explained, "This is the heart demon of this old man. Open this rock."

After hearing Zhen Chan’s words, Wang Qi struck the rock with his palm. After experiencing "Newton’s apple," his control over force had improved, and the already fragile rock shattered further, revealing something inside.

It was a small wine jar, very ancient in style, with a very small opening. The jar’s mouth was closely sealed with a soft cork, and talismans were pasted on its body.

"Ancient Method Practitioners are not insatiably greedy; they are simply disregarding everything else for the sake of longevity," Zhen Chan stated indifferently, "For longevity, things that can trigger heart demons can be discarded."

"Heart demons? Aren’t they always cut down with the Wisdom Sword in the Ancient Method?"

Zhen Chan snorted, "The Ancient Method’s approach to mental state may indeed seem crude to you Modern Cultivators, but that does not mean the Ancient Method lacks sophistication in handling the mental state."

Quite the contrary, the Ancient Method’s emphasis on mental state is much more substantial than the Modern Method—Yangshen Pavilion spent a thousand years only to research and remove unnecessary entities and concepts from the Ancient Method and simplify it.

Ancient Method Practitioners also spoke of the Heart Demon, emphasizing perseverance. Zhen Chan, after all, was a Mahayana Cultivator, and his understanding of perseverance was even deeper than that of Wang Qi, who only had Qi Refining Cultivation and lacked a grounding in psychological theories.

"I too had my youthful indiscretions. In my youth, I did something irreparable, a matter of lifelong regret. That day, I cried my sorrows away, bought a jar of wine, gathered a few friends, and we drowned our sorrows at the famous Dragon Horse until we could drink no more. Eventually, I and those friends sealed our deepest regrets inside that wine jar, guarding it with the sword I wielded at the time…"

The values of Ancient Method Practitioners were different from those of Modern Cultivators. An Ancient Method Practitioner might have many confidants, yet had even more comrades-in-arms whom they could trust with their lives—valuing friendship and brotherhood over any Magic Artifact.

"The sword you wore at that time… Were you in the Nascent Soul Stage?"

"Kun Mountain was indeed the sword I carried in my youth, given by my master… To escape the bindings of the Heart Demon, I abandoned it here."

Wang Qi stood in the water, silently observing the stall.

Ten thousand years ago, a heartbroken person in his prime had buried it here. The youth reached out and touched the jar. The Talisman laid by the Ancient Method Nascent Soul was not of very high quality and, weakened by ten millennia, turned to dust at Wang Qi’s touch, never to be controlled again.

Wang Qi, fearing that the contents of the wine jar could not withstand a violent oxidation reaction, did not remove the cork, but instead asked, "What happened afterward?"

"It was I who orchestrated the full scale war between Luofu Xuanqing Palace and Emperor’s Extreme Split Sky Dao," Zhen Chan said indifferently. "The two factions fought for countless years with tense relations, but never went as far as a war that could lead to complete destruction. I initiated the conflict, and then barely survived by staying here."

"And then, I only recently found out. Luofu Xuanqing Palace was destroyed, Emperor’s Extreme Split Sky Dao was severely weakened, and the Holy Infant Sect, originally a second-rate Sect, benefited as the residual winner, becoming the ruler of Shenzhou. Eight thousand years later, the Modern rose, and the Holy Infant Sect was extinguished."

Wang Qi continued to inquire, "Do you have any regrets?"

"Longevity is paramount, but one’s thoughts must also be clear," Zhen Chan replied. "As your Modern Cultivators say, Longevity isn’t about merely preserving an empty shell of existence."

Wang Qi exhaled and asked further, "So, how do you view it now? That thing you’ve regretted all your life?"

"I’ve come to terms with it."

Wang Qi, who had never expected such an answer, pressed, "Come to terms? Why? You died once because of it!"

Zhen Chan spoke solemnly, "Young man, since you have chosen the path of Modern, I can no longer guide you. This is the last thing I can pass on to you, so take heed."

"Mountains don’t know the days; the end of cold doesn’t count the years. The mental state of Cultivators ages particularly slowly; a two hundred-year-old Golden Core Cultivator might have the mindset of a twenty-year-old mortal lad. And because a Cultivator does not age easily and the body remains intact, the mindset stays young. Thus, the mindset of a Cultivator differs from that of a mortal. But, despite changing slowly, it does change in the end."

"As the mindset shifts and strengthens, the Heart Demon will naturally find it hard to sway your heart. This too, is coming to terms with it. Some things shouldn’t be focused on too narrowly. In time, think it over again, and the Heart Demon will vanish."

"To come to terms is not to forget; emotional detachment isn’t heartlessness. Your parents and family are destined trials, but isn’t your optimistic nature and strong willpower derived from this regret? Leave those memories, don’t forget the past, prevent recurrences of such regrets, and then, look forward."

Every word Zhen Chan uttered, struck Wang Qi like a resonant gong!

In-person advice was infinitely stronger than empty talks. Wang Qi admitted to himself that, before this jar, he had been persuaded.