Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 431 - 184: Old Man, Can You Be Even More Useless?

The golden armor sprouted wings and soared into the sky, then slowly flew towards the light barrier. Several Golden Core Cultivators hastily attacked with spells, but to no effect. The ancient Soul Steel seemed impervious to spell damage, and the armor—which the Demon Clan had crafted for close combat—was much more durable than the physical bodies of the Golden Core Cultivators. There was no chance of winning in close combat.

For the moment, the Golden Core Cultivators were completely at a loss as to how to deal with the armor!

Priest Li roared in anger, "Where are your spells? Your magical treasures? Did you feed them to the dogs?"

A middle-aged, beautiful woman scoffed, "Wasn't your World-Purifying Divine Power unable to detain him as well?"

Just as Priest Li was about to explode in anger, Zhai Difeng stopped him, "Let it go. The Guardian, weakened by a million years of erosion, is frail, but it is still made of Soul Steel—a unique material for forging Mystical Artifacts. It may be weak in attack but strong in defense. We can't take him down in a short time, but he also can't overcome us. Next time, with the right preparation and a Trapping Array set up, we can capture him in one fell swoop."

One of the Golden Core Cultivators licked his lips, "Soul Steel formed from residual obsessions might even be stronger than ordinary Soul Steel!"

Another Golden Core Cultivator glared at the slowly flying armor, muttering, "He dares to look down on us…"

They didn't know that it wasn't Wang Qi intentionally slowing down; he just couldn't move any faster.

"Damn it… The Holy Flame made the armor come alive, causing my control over it to drop significantly!"

Soul Steel was a product of refining large amounts of souls with the essence of five metals, where all souls were perfectly forged into one. By infusing the spirit-heavy Holy Light, these discrete Soul Powers would form a temporary whole, allowing Wang Qi's will to match the "armor's soul," thus easily controlling the armor. However, after the infusion of the flesh-heavy Holy Flame, the armor came alive with its own "instincts," making it harder for Wang Qi to control.

"Hurry up…" Wang Qi thought anxiously, "I must enter that relic before the Holy Light runs out!"

Fortunately, ninety-nine seconds was a minute and a half, which wasn't too short. Wang Qi reached the barrier before the time had elapsed. Without slowing down, he rammed directly into the barrier. Just as Zhen Chan had predicted, he passed through without any hindrance.

After crossing the barrier, the armor's limbs touched the ground, and it sprinted like mad. Wang Qi galloped wildly on the Demon Clan's sacred path, only stopping once he entered the Temple. He immediately disengaged the armor. The armor that had "come to life" instantly "died," breaking into several pieces and falling to the ground.

Right after Wang Qi temporarily animated the armor, it even adjusted its shape on its own, solidifying into a complete set!

Wang Qi emerged from the armor and was just about to stow it away when, feeling dizzy, he nearly collapsed!

Zhen Chan exclaimed anxiously, "Boy, what's wrong? Did you suffer a concealed injury just now?"

"It must be a countermeasure of the Demon Clan to prevent enemies from refining the Soul Steel Armor," Wang Qi said, pressing his forehead and sitting cross-legged on the ground, "In the dream, it said."

Zhen Chan still wondered why. But soon after, an inexplicable suction force was transmitted to him, as if trying to pull his consciousness down to the bottom. Zhen Chan, having once been a Mahayana, could resist this force. Yet recalling Wang Qi's prior words, he did not resist and let the force drag his consciousness downward.

In the darkness, Zhen Chan saw Wang Qi. He was sitting on a Taishi Chair, facing a large stage, with a small table next to him on which sat a cup of tea—the tea murky yellow—accompanied by soy flour cakes, yellow pea cakes, milk rolls, and rose cakes.

Wang Qi was taken aback upon seeing Zhen Chan, "Holy moly, old man, what did Chen Feng feed you?"

Facing Wang Qi was Zhen Chan, dressed as an elderly man in black Daoist robes, sporting a beard that stretched one foot and five inches, exuding an imposing aura.

This was the exact appearance Zhen Chan had used years ago when he forcefully projected his dream to communicate with him.

Zhen Chan wondered, "I've looked this way for ten thousand years, what's so strange about that?"

Wang Qi shook his head, "No, no, no. This is my dream. If only your consciousness descended here, then your appearance should be determined by me."

"What should I look like in your mind?"

"A big ball of light?" Wang Qi said uncertainly.

Zhen Chan's face darkened, and suddenly, he no longer wanted to talk to Wang Qi.

Wang Qi took another look at Zhen Chan, feeling quite regretful. This old man had style and dignity, so how had he become such a joke ten thousand years later?

However, the fact that Zhen Chan brought his physical form to Wang Qi was an unexpected delight. This meant that Zhen Chan had found a method to restore the Soul in the Secret Techniques provided by Chen Feng, and had completed it according to the Modern Law Gate.

Moreover, the more powerful Zhen Chan became, the more advantageous it would be for Wang Qi's upcoming actions.

Zhen Chan asked in confusion, "What are you planning to do now, boy?"

Wang Qi gestured for him to look at the stage. Atop the stage, an unprecedented grand play was being performed. Thousands of "actors" were acting out a play together. Upon a closer look, all the scenes on the stage involved "Martial Arts," with every "actor" engaged in fierce combat!

Cruel, bloody, majestic, fierce battles, roaring between heaven and earth, fearing nothing!

"This is..." Zhen Chan's expression was complex. He could feel the prowess within these scenes.

This was no mere decorative illusion, but a will as radiant as that of Martial Arts Fist Intent!

Although it was a bit chaotic.

"This is something that has been brewing inside the Soul Steel for a million years, fragments of consciousness from the Ancient Demon Clan's mightiest, and also a mechanism of the Soul Steel Armor to prevent others from refining it," Wang Qi pointed at the stage and said, "Anyone who does not refine it using the standard methods will have these eternal wills backflow into their soul. If the user survives, their strength will greatly increase, but they will also be stripped of their self."

Zhen Chan looked at Wang Qi quizzically, "How come you are unaffected?"

Wang Qi laughed heartily, "I have exceptional talent..."

"Tell the truth."

"It really is exceptional talent," Wang Qi shrugged. "This mechanism targets the Demon Clan, as their thought processes mainly rely on the soul—but I am from the Human Clan. Among all races in Shenzhou, our souls are quite strong, though still insignificant compared to the brain. Before the Primordial Spirit Stage, the main thinking organ for the Human Clan is the brain! Contaminate the soul? My 'Upper Pure Spiritual Treasure' isn't even in the soul!"

Indeed, compared to the typical members of the Demon Clan, humans possess exceptional talent.

"It seems you are not completely unaffected."

Wang Qi nodded in admission, "True. The soul is a secondary cognitive organ for me but still has an influence on my temperament and way of thinking. I had to temporarily sever the connection between my brain and my soul..."

Zhen Chan was astonished, "You can do that?"

"Just a reverse application of 'Qujianji'."

'Qujianji' itself suppresses the brain, allowing cultivators to think with their soul while artificially creating a "Cartesian Theater" that enables cultivators to observe themselves from an absolutely objective standpoint and temper their will. The reverse application of 'Qujianji' completely suppresses the soul, using only the brain, objectively observing the soul. The various wills poured into the soul then become just another play on the stage, unable to affect one's personality.

Zhen Chan asked, "Why did you want me to come here?"

"Human beings are social creatures. Having a companion alongside boosts confidence when confronting such things, making one's response calmer despite the natural inclination," Wang Qi glanced at Zhen Chan. "Initially, I just hoped you would keep me company here, but since you have gained power, you might as well help me eliminate any harmful illusions in this dream."

Zhen Chan slightly nodded, feeling it was finally his time to shine. At that moment, a third voice, different from Wang Qi and Zhen Chan's, appeared in the dream, "Not a bad idea, the cultivation method is very subtle."

The suddenly emerging voice belonged to a middle-aged scholar. He wore an ancient, simple white robe of an unknown year's style, sporting a beard along his jaw but appearing calm and steady rather than rough.

Zhen Chan laughed, "You, a Heart Demon of this nightmare, are actually praising yourself?"

Wang Qi's expression grew serious, "This doesn't seem like a Heart Demon..."

Zhen Chan, looking relaxed, drew his sword and approached the middle-aged scholar, "No matter, watch the old man cut him down—Ah!"

Following a short cry of pain, the middle-aged scholar extended a finger and astonishingly sent Zhen Chan flying.

Wang Qi watched speechlessly as Zhen Chan fell to the ground, "Old man, can you be any more of a failure?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to vote for it on qidian.com through recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest encouragement. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com).