Legends of Ancient and Modern Times: Xianxia

Wang Qi felt like he couldn't suppress the million grass-mud horses galloping in his heart.

So, he asked Li Ziye, "Senior Li... is your Heavenly Sword called 'Fatty,' 'Skinny,' or 'Little Boy'?"

Li Ziye froze on the spot. Xiang Qi, however, frowned and asked doubtfully, "Those don't sound like sword names at all. What were you thinking?"

"Because those are names for nuclear bombs, you nuclear bomb sword immortals!"

"Huh?"

This time, it was Xiang Qi who was dumbfounded.

Zhen Chanzi sighed, "This kid is spouting more nonsensical gibberish. Ignore him."

Xiang Qi pointed to her head and asked tentatively, "Is... that how it is?"

Wang Qi yelled, "Hey, hey, if you don't get the meme, don't treat those who do as lunatics, okay?"

Zhen Chanzi: "...Just think of it that way."

"Old man, which side are you on?"

Xiang Qi's expression changed. "You ancient cultivators... do you have to be lunatics to achieve enlightenment? How disgusting!"

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

Li Ziye finally came back to his senses. He stopped Xiang Qi, who was about to argue with Zhen Chanzi, and recalled his Heavenly Sword. "Alright, Junior Sister Xiang, the four seniors have gone to pursue the Unforgiving Taoist. What do you think we should do next?"

Wang Qi asked curiously, "What mission?"

Li Ziye smiled. "Actually, it has something to do with you, little brother. Piaomiao Palace's ability to probe is extraordinary. Even a Free and Unfettered Grandmaster of the same realm would find it difficult to infiltrate near a Piaomiao Palace Grandmaster. And the Unforgiving Taoist's movement technique is unparalleled. If he isn't cornered, he can't be captured. The Immortal Alliance's plan is to have a low-level cultivator with direct Immortal Alliance authority approach him, making him focus his attention on this low-level cultivator."

Wang Qi pointed at Xiang Qi. "So, Fairy Xiang is here to attract his attention? By selling her looks to attract that old man's attention?"

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air, and Xiang Qi's flying sword suddenly appeared before Wang Qi, pressing against his neck.

Xiang Qi's voice was icy. "Some things should not be said carelessly!"

"Hahahaha, I was just joking, Fairy. Why take it so seriously?"

Li Ziye gave a wry smile. "You two... However, we are indeed troubled about how to reasonably enter the village without arousing the Unforgiving Taoist's suspicion."

Xiang Qi snorted and recalled her flying sword.

Wang Qi rubbed his neck and asked, "Then, to prevent Fairy Xiang from acting like a renegade cultivator, rushing into the village in a panic, and then Senior Li going in to capture him?"

Li Ziye shook his head. "That was our original thought, but there's a problem. To avoid the Unforgiving Taoist detecting anything unusual, and to prevent those within the Immortal Alliance who sympathize with the Unforgiving Taoist from leaking information, Junior Sister Xiang and I were both temporarily transferred from nearby. But, I am a disciple of the Myriad Dharma Sect."

Zhen Chanzi asked, "What's so special about the Myriad Dharma Sect?"

"Myriad Dharma disciples are best at calculation, capable of countless methods," Li Ziye said, unconsciously showing a touch of pride. "When Myriad Dharma disciples battle, they either can't win, but if they do win, they leave absolutely no room for the enemy to escape."

Xiang Qi continued, "Coincidentally, at this time, there was a slight anomaly in the flow of spiritual energy. Senior Brother Li calculated that there was an ancient cultivator in Dabai Village who had achieved the Reaching the Heavens cultivation... Wait, isn't the ancient method called Spirit Body? Coincidentally, the Immortal Alliance has a system specifically for guiding ancient cultivators who accidentally obtained ancient inheritances, so I went there."

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

He felt too embarrassed to call himself 'Miraculous Method' again.

Xiang Qi sneered. "You call that concealment? Completely isolating the inside from the outside, preventing even a trace of your Magical Power from leaking? Hmph, you think you're pretending to be a stone, but you don't realize that even decaying wood participates in the subtle changes of spiritual energy. By isolating yourself, you've removed yourself from these changes, making you as conspicuous as a rock in a stream."

Wang Qi's eyes widened. "So, you were talking to me just to go with the flow and pretend to be naive to get information from me, all so you could stay there for a while?"

Xiang Qi nodded. "Consider yourself smart."

Damn it, who said ancient people in other worlds only had an IQ of 9!

Li Ziye said, "In short, thanks to you, little brother, we've completed the mission. Junior Sister Xiang, should we stay here and wait for the seniors to return before reporting to the Immortal Alliance headquarters together, or go directly to the nearest Immortal Alliance branch? And there's also the matter of little brother Wang Qi."

Xiang Qi's big eyes darted around. "I think we should wait here for a while, alright?"

Li Ziye asked, "Why?"

"We are here to cooperate with the seniors, so we should prioritize them. It wouldn't be good to go back by ourselves. Besides, after this incident, Dabai Village must be somewhat frightened. If we linger here for a few days, it can be considered appeasement and a good deed."

Li Ziye smiled and patted Xiang Qi's head. "Be honest."

Xiang Qi stuck out her tongue. "To go to the headquarters with four Free and Unfettered True Lords, how glorious would that be? Moreover, after staying in a remote place for too long, one always misses the prosperity of the headquarters."

"And what about little brother Wang Qi?"

"Follow the regulations. At most, it'll be a year."

Wang Qi, hearing that it concerned him, could no longer sit still and shouted, "Hey! What do you mean 'follow the regulations'? What do you mean 'at most a year'?"

Li Ziye explained, "According to Immortal Alliance regulations, if an ancient cultivator is found, they should be helped to switch to the modern cultivation method. Ancient cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm must participate in the Immortal Alliance's Divine Continent sect unified entrance trial along with those seeking immortality in the human world every June. On the sixteenth of January, each Immortal Alliance branch and sect outpost will hold lectures to teach the methods that those seeking immortality will be tested on."

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

Li Ziye said, "It's already late spring now. For little brother Wang Qi, time is of the essence..."

Xiang Qi waved her hand. "Senior Brother Li, teaching him some introductory knowledge is something either you or I can handle."

Li Ziye thought for a moment. "That's true. What do you think, little brother? I'll state upfront, it's just introductory knowledge. The difference between us teaching you and the lecturers at those forums is not that great."

Wang Qi pondered for a long time. If the Immortal Alliance's ascension trial was as he imagined, then he wasn't afraid. It was just exam revision, something he was very good at in his previous life. However... appeasing the villagers...

Wang Qi nodded. "Alright then."

Li Ziye nodded. "In your opinion, little brother, where would be a suitable place for us to stay?"

"My ancestors still had some wealth, and the house is quite spacious. What do you two think?"

"We'll follow the host's lead."

With that, Li Ziye cast an escape technique, lifting Wang Qi with his escape light, and slowly flew towards Dabai Village. Xiang Qi followed closely, riding her sword light.

Wang Qi asked, "By the way, Senior Li, you always talk about ancient cultivation and modern cultivation. What's the difference between the two?"

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

"Ancient cultivation emphasizes 'stealing the essence of heaven and earth,' and 'sages are great thieves of heaven.' The goal is to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to build one's own small world. Modern cultivation is different; we emphasize 'following nature' and borrowing the power of heaven and earth."

"Borrow?" Wang Qi was greatly puzzled. "If it's borrowing, then there must be a repayment... Are you going to scatter your magical power back to heaven and earth?"

Li Ziye shook his head, "No. Didn't Junior Sister Xiang just tell you that all things in heaven and earth are actually participating in the natural flow of spiritual energy? Do you know where this natural flow comes from?"

Wang Qi shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

Xiang Qi chimed in, "The breathing of heaven and earth."

"The breathing of heaven and earth?"

Li Ziye explained, "Heaven and earth also exchange spiritual essence with the outside world. If you compare heaven and earth to a person, what is this if not breathing? The simplest examples are the power of yang fire and the power of stars, which both come from outside the heavens."

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

"Modern cultivation is about integrating oneself into the breathing of heaven and earth, borrowing the breathing of heaven and earth to directly gather the endless pure spiritual energy from outside the heavens! And this process not only does not harm heaven and earth in the slightest, but it also strengthens the breathing of heaven and earth, making this world more robust. Conversely, as the power of heaven and earth grows, our gathering of spiritual energy becomes smoother."

"And in later realms, we can directly learn from nature and forge a perfect inner world, rather than painstakingly contemplating one's own path like in ancient cultivation."

Wang Qi nodded. Cultivation was about transforming oneself into a "small world," capable of surviving independently of the greater world outside, and truly living as long as heaven and earth. If heaven and earth were compared to a peasant woman and spiritual energy to eggs, then ancient cultivation was like pushing over the peasant woman and snatching all the eggs, while modern cultivation was like borrowing the peasant woman's chicken to lay one's own eggs...

Why did it all sound so vulgar?

Just as Wang Qi's thoughts drifted to the peasant woman who thought, "What's the big deal, I thought you were stealing my eggs," Zhen Chanzi spoke with admiration, "Remarkable, the founder of modern cultivation is truly remarkable. Who was the great being who founded modern cultivation? Did they ascend to immortality?"

Li Ziye shook his head, "The so-called founder of modern cultivation is not a single person. Have you heard of Pythagoras and Archimedes, these two ancient cultivators, old sir?"

Zhen Chanzi's tone was uncertain, "They seem to be two Grand Unity Grandmasters from ancient times."

Pythagoras and Archimedes! Wang Qi thought. Once one accepted this absurd setting, these correspondences were incredibly easy to guess.

"Primordial Heavenly Lord Pythagoras, Geometry Devil Master Archimedes, both were great mathematicians of ancient times. Their lineages were merged in ancient times, which is the origin of the Myriad Dharma Sect's foundation. The Myriad Dharma Sect's cultivation method is considered the orthodox path of modern cultivation, and almost all cultivation methods of modern cultivation sects have traces of the Myriad Dharma Sect."

"However, although the Myriad Dharma Sect was the first sect to research the path of modern cultivation, it was not the first modern cultivation sect. The sects that truly researched the rudimentary form of modern cultivation were the Mysterious Star Observatory and Sky Spirit Ridge."

"The Mysterious Star Observatory is the most powerful sect in the Western Immortal Dao today, skilled in meditating and breathing under starlight and moonlight. Since the founding of the sect by Master Ge Bai of Xuanxin, the Mysterious Star Observatory has always produced outstanding talents. Master Ge Bai was once a low-level protector in the Holy Infant Sect, the foremost ancient cultivation sect at the time. Later, he gradually discovered that the heavenly path cultivated by ancient cultivators was not the true heavenly path. After a lifetime of depression, he finally decided in his later years to betray the Holy Infant Sect and founded the Mysterious Star Observatory to pursue the ultimate truth. Therefore, from the very beginning, the Mysterious Star Observatory faced suppression and persecution from ancient cultivators, and many of its first-generation disciples, such as Bruno, died to achieve their Dao."

"On the other hand, the sects that gradually established modern cultivation were Spirit Beast Mountain and Myriad Flowers Valley. These two sects already advocated for cultivation without harming living beings in heaven and earth, but they could only ensure that they would not harm nearby living beings when gathering the essence of heaven and earth. This continued until the appearance of Darwin, the God of Heaven's Choice. Darwin, the God of Heaven's Choice, was a legendary figure of Spirit Beast Mountain. Similar to Master Ge Bai, the Divine Lord was an outer disciple of the Holy Infant Sect in his early years. Later, he realized that the ancient cultivation path was not viable, and returned to Spirit Beast Mountain."

"Because the people of the Myriad Dharma Sect had extensive connections at the time, they were able to learn from Spirit Beast Mountain, Myriad Flowers Valley, and the Mysterious Star Observatory, changing their own cultivation methods and finally becoming a modern cultivation sect. Due to ideological differences, there were constant disputes between modern cultivation sects and ancient cultivation masters. However, at that time, no matter how marvelous modern cultivation was, it could not withstand the sheer numbers of ancient cultivators. During that period, modern cultivators had a very difficult time."

Xiang Qi continued, "But later, modern cultivation encountered a great fortune. An unparalleled genius emerged from Lie Dian Island, an island in the far west of the Divine Continent – Lord of Yuanli, Newton! Lord of Yuanli was originally from the 'cultivating strength' branch of ancient cultivation..."

Zhen Chanzi: "You mean the one who doesn't cultivate Dao methods but only focuses on strength and martial skills?"

Xiang Qi nodded, "Yes, but Lord of Yuanli felt it was insufficient. He joined the Myriad Dharma Sect and elevated the techniques of cultivating strength to a level beyond mere technique, bordering on Dao, thus forming his own lineage. It is said that Lord of Yuanli was favored by heaven and earth, and heaven and earth, through the hand of a fruit, passed down to him three great heavenly principles, encompassing everything!"

"With these three great heavenly principles, Lord of Yuanli founded the 'Yuanli Gate' in the center of the Divine Continent. Lord of Yuanli's friend, Bohr, established Burning Gold Valley. His rival, the rogue cultivator Hu Ke, unified Spirit Beast Mountain and Myriad Flowers Valley by modifying basic cultivation methods, thus establishing today's Sky Spirit Ridge. Later, Marquis Kelvin of Burning Sky, born into nobility, gathered a group of enthusiasts to establish Burning Sky Manor."

Li Ziye closed his eyes, as if reminiscing about that era when they were enemies with the world, and the predecessors of modern cultivation fought their way out step by step, "Lord of Yuanli and the geniuses of his generation completely turned the tide of the battle. Modern cultivation finally completely suppressed ancient cultivation and became the orthodox path of the Divine Continent!"