"Right, but also wrong?"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng looked surprised. "What do you mean?"
Zhu Zhengwei said slowly, "Bringing qi down from the neck and circulating it through the entire body is indeed a proper, great path. Cultivating the Complete Method can indeed lead to immortality. But the proper path is difficult and far too ambitious."
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng said, "The great path is difficult to cultivate. Should we begin by cultivating a lesser path?"
He was a paranoid and perfectionist emperor. Like Zhang Zhi, he had independently thought of the simplest and most perfect method: bringing qi down from the neck and circulating it throughout the body!
But that did not mean he could not think of other methods.
For example, certain cultivation methods.
Only cultivating the head, or perhaps replacing the head or body?
They could do everything possible to extend their lifespans first, then slowly raise their cultivation levels.
Over the years, the dynasty's scholars had come up with far too many fantastic ideas. Some even violated morality. Many of these inhumane concepts had all been rejected by him one by one.
He asked, "May I ask exactly how difficult the Complete Method is?"
Zhu Zhengwei instead said, "Humans have hundreds of trillions of cells. Qi must circulate through and nourish them. Every one of those hundreds of trillions of cells must swallow wind and consume qi. You can imagine the difficulty."
Circulating qi through the body was not that simple.
It was equivalent to injecting an ethereal spirit into material flesh.
It was equivalent to directly using soul energy to stimulate and evolve the body until one achieved longevity and immortality. But the complexity of the human body's structure in modern medicine needed no explanation. Even today, there were still countless difficult problems that had yet to be overcome.
"Cellular Science? In Jingshan Temple of Bronze Country, I heard about the theories they obtained from the Old World."
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng thought for a moment before saying, "Still, the proper method has been confirmed, and we know that the path we seek is correct. That is enough! If we truly find ourselves unable to advance, perhaps we will first consider other shortcuts, but that will be for my descendants to decide."
Zhu Zhengwei nodded.
This question had been set aside.
In reality, there was nothing much to say about the second question.
They had already chosen their path and seen its direction. Bringing qi down from the neck and circulating it through the whole body was obviously the most orthodox method. They merely wanted confirmation and peace of mind.
As for the third question, that was the main event.
He was asking about the world's environment, whether the dynasty would last forever, whether it could reach the Old World at the height of its prosperity, and what the Old God World had been like.
This was a glimpse into the past and the future.
The first true dynasty had now begun to take shape. Zhu Zhengwei's answer would serve as enlightenment and a guiding light for this world's civilization, so he had to be extremely cautious.
As Zhu Zhengwei pondered, he took a sip of tea and silently considered the third question. Then he suddenly asked in return, "You ask whether the Ancestor Shaman Dynasty will last forever? Human Emperor Chong Dao, how large do you think this world is?"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng shook his head and frankly admitted that he did not know.
That was only natural. Over the centuries, too many records of the Old Civilization had been lost. Even Zhang Zhi's memories of that Old Civilization had become blurry, with many things already forgotten.
Zhu Zhengwei instead smiled. "The world stretches for countless billions of kilometers. This is merely the world beneath our feet. The sun, moon, and stars in the sky are each worlds of their own. The universe is boundless and infinite."
Zhu Zhengwei's words left Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng stunned. He immediately became extremely interested. "The world is actually this vast? Our dynasty is merely like a floating insect in water?"
The impact on this emperor was immense, and it filled him with excitement!
The world was vast!
After all, the territory of the world before them consisted only of the Seaside Ghost Country, the Slave Dynasty, and Bronze Country. Beyond that lay endless coastlines, the domain of the Sea Giant. Farther out stretched an immense ocean without end. The scenery never changed, as if one could never escape no matter how far one traveled.
In reality, this was simply the map's invisible boundary.
The world itself was actually rather small. But in Zhu Zhengwei's eyes, although it was small now, its future territory might not remain so. Sooner or later, with the support of a large number of "lower-level mining machines," it would become a genuine four-dimensional planet.
At the same time, Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng carefully pondered those words: the world beneath his feet already spanned countless billions of kilometers, while the sky above was even more boundless!
Was this not a world above the heavens and below the earth?
He suddenly recalled the phenomenon that had accompanied the birth of this god.
With one hand pointing to the heavens and the other to the earth, he stood supreme beneath the sky and above the earth!
Could it be that...?
As he looked at the man before him, his awe and respect grew even deeper.
Even among "god"-class life-forms, this existence was likely one of the most supreme beings.
Zhu Zhengwei naturally had no idea that Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng, the sage of the present age, had been reminded of his own dramatic entrance into the world by the scene before him. Instead, he pricked up his ears and heard the Immortal Herbs nearby begin discussing things in low voices again.
"Ahahaha, this feudal emperor is dumbfounded after hearing about the Sea of Stars outside."
"I was dumbfounded for so long before. I finally get to feel superior now!"
"But isn't this only natural? If you replaced him with the feudal emperors of ancient China's Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, they would all be bewildered upon hearing how large the world was. In their eyes, the farthest places were merely some nearby barbarian countries."
They felt that this shock was only natural.
After all, it was merely a feudal dynasty.
Its civilization was still at a very primitive slave-system stage, with low productivity.
However, some people had begun to wonder about the setting of the "gods." The gods actually knew about the concept of the stars and universe! They knew about outer space, the universe, vacuums, and planets. Could it be that they were essentially an advanced cosmic civilization?
Had this planet once been home to a Super Technology Civilization in prehistoric times, only for it to be destroyed?
"Not sure."
"But the worldview is incredibly interesting."
"I feel like this is another Earth. Civilization is developing, and the hidden worldview is enormous. We are witnessing history on this planet. We are all spectators of this Mortal World."
The weeds chattered noisily, like the clamor of wind.
Zhu Zhengwei paid no attention to their excitement and guesses. Sitting beneath the Tea Shed amid the beautiful scenery at the heart of the dynasty, he looked at Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng again and said, "You ask whether the Blessing Shaman civilization can rival the old gods at the height of its prosperity. Do you know what kind of world the Old Civilization was?"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng shook his head.
Zhu Zhengwei stood up. It was as if he had seen the distant past, and his voice carried remembrance and nostalgia. "In the Old World, everyone could transmit their voices across a thousand li with a single thought and project images through the air. Above every head hung an Archaic Magic Net. It could instantly reveal knowledge that ordinary people would need a thousand or ten thousand years to learn. Everyone possessed complete knowledge!"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng was stunned.
What kind of world-class miracle was that?
His Wall of Ten Thousand Stones was utterly insignificant before such a national miracle.
In such a place, would the scholars and ascetics of their dynasty not be a complete joke?
Zhu Zhengwei looked at him and smiled faintly again. "In the Old World, tens of billions of people lived across the land, and every person had a Cave Mansion. Magic Arrays were attached to the walls, precise as a net, and could draw upon the power of the universe's thunderbolts. Divine radiance shone brilliantly, transmitting Immortal Energy and activating the Shamanic Artifacts in their homes—to ward off cold, generate heat, form ice, create fire, and perform all kinds of wondrous feats."
A world of gods and immortals!!
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng was still pondering that his "Wall of Ten Thousand Stones" was probably inferior even to an ordinary citizen's Cave Mansion when he heard Zhu Zhengwei say something even more astonishing:
"In that Old Country, everyone could ride mounts, command flying birds to soar ten thousand meters into the sky, and ride enormous dragons that traveled ten thousand li in a day."
"A divine golden age! Truly a divine golden age! In that era, everyone was an immortal! Everyone was an innate god!"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng could not help exclaiming. His pupils widened as he lamented, "My abilities and battle prowess are actually far inferior to those of an ordinary person from the Old Era?"
Zhu Zhengwei looked at him deeply again. "Everything I described was merely commonplace among the citizens!"
"If even the citizens were that extraordinary, able to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth, then what of the emperors who ruled the dynasties?" He became even more curious.
Zhu Zhengwei glanced at him and said, "The emperors who held power could make people ascend to the moon and chase the sun, gather sand from the stars, create a sky full of stars, monitor the entire continent and its lands, and observe mountains and rivers ten thousand li away! They could all fire a single arrow ten thousand li away, destroying an entire kingdom! With one strike, they could annihilate hundreds of millions of living beings!"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng was completely immersed in that incredible and magnificent scene. He cried out loudly, "The Mythological Heavenly Court! That must have been the Mythological Heavenly Court!!"
Some of the Immortal Herbs nearby had already grown excited.
"Isn't this just our modern world?"
"Hahahaha, I suddenly feel so proud!"
"This game is amazing. It actually understands us and even wrote about our real world."
"In the blink of an eye, we've become gods! To the ancients, we are the Primordial Heavenly Court! Each of us is a sacred being from the Old World!"
"Electrical circuits hanging on walls = Cave Mansion arrays, phones = transmitting voices across a thousand li and projecting images through the air, airplanes and high-speed rail = immortal mounts, satellites = the Heavenly Emperor's stars, governing and observing the whole world."
"Wow! That's insanely awesome! When you look at it from this angle, it really does feel mythological."
"Wait, what are you so proud of? What he described might not even be us. It could be another equally advanced, or even more advanced, Old Civilization on another planet!"
Zhu Zhengwei was somewhat speechless.
What are you people so excited about?
He was developing this world's civilization and speaking with emperors of the era, yet these Servers were somehow even more excited than he was. It was simply absurd.
If Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng had not left them here to cultivate as national treasures...
They were practically polluting his ears and ruining the atmosphere!
At that moment, Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng's heart shook violently.
So this was the Old Civilization?
But even such a magnificent mythological civilization of the Old World had been destroyed.
What kind of disaster had caused it? An enemy? Internal strife? A natural calamity?
He had achieved a little success and had actually brazenly asked whether his Blessing Shaman Dynasty might one day allow everyone to swallow wind and consume qi, becoming comparable to that divine age?
He was truly blind and foolish.
A trace of shame appeared on his face. "How could my Shaman Zhu Kingdom possibly compare to that old immortal court?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhengwei remained calm.
He was not deliberately trying to undermine Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng's confidence. He merely wanted to show them a truly flourishing modern technological society of the twenty-first century—a different future.
Although to the ancients, and especially to a feudal-era emperor at that moment, this was far too unbelievable and cruel. After all, though their individual strength was formidable, it was still merely the power of individual soldiers.
Zhu Zhengwei instead smiled. "Why belittle yourself? Do you know where I came from and where I am going?"
Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng suddenly reacted as well. He recalled the words Zhu Zhengwei had spoken when they first met: [I came from the Old World, and I am heading toward the future.]
His heart surged with emotion. A heroic spirit burst from his chest, and he could not help thinking blankly:
Does that mean my empire, and the future of this world, may one day be no less than that divine golden age?
Before you continue