The Unforgiving Taoist's Manuscript

Li Ziye never got to see his beloved sunlight.

In the dead of night, the disciple of the Myriad Dharma Sect breathed his last. After confirming Li Ziye's death, Wang Qi sighed, "Honestly, that wasn't a heroic death at all, Senior Brother Li. A simple 'no regrets' would have been so decisive."

Zhen Chanzi spoke up, "You..."

Wang Qi laid Li Ziye's body flat on the ground, then took two steps back and sat down. "Alright, old man, now let's talk about our business."

Zhen Chanzi remained silent. "Nothing to say."

Wang Qi sneered, "So you don't deny that this can be blamed on you, right?"

"Indeed."

"Meaning, you lied to me."

"It's not the first time you've been lied to."

"Indeed." Wang Qi reverted to his usual expression. "However, I am genuinely angry right now."

"Mm." Zhen Chanzi's tone was devoid of emotion. "I've been gambling all this time, betting that you wouldn't easily encounter someone who possesses the other piece of that immortal artifact set. After all, the possibility of you meeting the Heaven-Splitting Dao Lord is minuscule."

"Then what did he use to sense you?"

"A replica of the immortal artifact that the Heaven-Splitting Dao Lord seized. If the only requirement is to sense other immortal artifacts, the cost of a replica isn't too high. However, in ancient times, everyone feared others stealing their opportunities, so no one ever used such methods."

Ancient cultivators only cared for themselves. Countless examples exist of people turning against friends, masters against disciples, and spouses against each other for a sliver of opportunity.

"But regardless, if you had told me about this earlier, I wouldn't have been wearing this thing all the time." Wang Qi took off the ring and said, "If I had left this cursed thing at home, I wouldn't have been in danger."

"You know the truth now. If you throw the ring away, I can't blame you."

Wang Qi smiled, cupped the ring in his palm, raised the hand holding it, and made a motion as if to throw it. "Last question, what is the ring's true purpose?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You don't know about your own sect's treasure?"

Zhen Chanzi gave a wry smile. "Our founder was lucky enough to buy it from a rogue cultivator who didn't know its value. Its known functions are to accelerate a cultivator's absorption of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, assist minor spells like Breath Concealment, sense other parts of that immortal artifact set, and contain souls."

"I see." Wang Qi lowered his hand and put the ring back on his left index finger.

Zhen Chanzi: "...What do you mean by this? You know this ring is useless to you and even a hidden danger, yet you're keeping it?"

Modern Dharma is far superior to Ancient Dharma, and Wang Qi's talent in Modern Dharma is astonishing. Choosing Modern Dharma should be a certainty. Modern Dharma cultivators absorb spiritual energy from beyond the heavens, not from heaven and earth, rendering the ring's first function useless to them. The spells it enhances are all low-level Ancient Dharma spells, and the challenges of Modern Dharma spells, which are far more difficult than Ancient Dharma, are too great for the ring. As for containing souls? There's already one inside. Unless Zhen Chanzi is willing to come out, this function is also rendered useless.

As for the remaining one, it's simply a hidden danger.

Wang Qi propped himself up with his right hand, leaning back slightly, and raised his left hand, holding the ring up to his eyes. "Regardless. You've accompanied me for many years. I didn't take you as my master, and you didn't have to be completely devoted to me. This accident, let it be. Besides, as a Mahayana cultivator, your experience is still somewhat useful. If you're willing to tell me everything from now on, I can still fulfill my promise: if I ever achieve the wondrous Dharma, I will reshape your body for you."

Zhen Chanzi asked suspiciously, "That simple?"

"Do you not trust my character?" Wang Qi looked at the ring with a half-smile.

"It's not a matter of character, but rather... your intentions are likely not that simple."

Only after Zhen Chanzi finished speaking did he notice the grim smile on Wang Qi's face.

Wang Qi looked at Li Ziye's corpse and said, "Indeed, it's not that simple. Without you, I really don't know where I'd find the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao."

Zhen Chanzi was greatly alarmed. "Are you crazy, kid?"

Wang Qi pondered for a moment. "What if I report it to the Modern Dharma Sect?"

"You're using yourself as bait, relying on Modern Dharma experts to protect you?" Zhen Chanzi quickly understood. "If you fail a few times, the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao will just think you're setting a trap, and you could walk down the street openly later, and they'd still think it's a trap. If they send out top-tier experts on the first try, the Modern Dharma cultivators, having made arrangements beforehand, would likely have enough time to react. The only danger seems to be losing an immortal artifact that is completely useless to you—and this immortal artifact is equally useless to other Modern Dharma cultivators."

"What do you think?"

Zhen Chanzi said, "If I hadn't spoken with you tonight, and Li Ziye hadn't met with an accident, I might have thought this was a good plan."

Wang Qi frowned. "How so?"

"Li Ziye's combat strength is superior to this Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao's Nascent Soul. Even with that miscellaneous Nascent Soul joining in, Li Ziye still had a chance to win. Therefore, if they wanted to win, their only opportunity would be to first heavily injure Xiang Qi, then have the three Foundation Establishment Realm subordinates set up a formation, using her as bait to lure Li Ziye into the formation and defeat him with it. This tactic requires Li Ziye and Xiang Qi to be separated. Do you think anyone could predict the exact time Li Ziye would leave?"

Wang Qi suddenly realized. "That passing Golden Core! You mean there's a traitor within the Modern Dharma sect."

Zhen Chanzi said, "There's another strangeness involved here. Modern Dharma cultivators have very low resource requirements. There's no reason for them to betray the currently dominant Immortal Alliance for a small profit."

"What if it's not a small profit?"

Zhen Chanzi denied it. "Impossible. The resource consumption for Ancient Dharma cultivation is enormous. Even major sects wouldn't have much surplus."

Wang Qi pondered. "So, you were also living frugally in the past, right?"

"Therefore, I truly admire the person who founded Modern Dharma. No resources needed, hehe." Zhen Chanzi chuckled twice, then continued, "But this involves another strangeness. The academic system you mentioned last night sounds feasible. However, have you ever considered: why hasn't the Modern Dharma immortal path developed a similar system?"

Wang Qi answered without thinking, "Obstruction from conservative and stubborn feudal forces."

Zhen Chanzi scoffed, "Idiot! Would a mighty being who could create Modern Dharma from Ancient Dharma be so rigid and stuck in old ways?"

Wang Qi scratched his head. "Do science students not understand politics?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Roughly meaning bookworms don't understand power struggles."

"Unlikely." Zhen Chanzi said, "Since disseminating knowledge greatly benefits the development of the Modern Dharma immortal path, but the current leaders of Modern Dharma are hindering it, at least among low-level cultivators, there's only one reason."

Wang Qi couldn't figure out what Zhen Chanzi was planning. "Speak."

"In this era, those who cultivate the modern dharma must not reveal the foundations of their techniques carelessly when facing a great enemy."

Wang Qi was greatly surprised. "That's impossible. According to Li Ziye's description, the modern dharma cultivators have already completely overwhelmed the ancient dharma cultivators. Now they have to resort to stealth and elaborate schemes to kill two talented disciples? They don't seem like a dominant force."

Zhen Chanzi said in a low voice, "That's right. The ancient dharma cultivators can now even bestow opportunities for immortal artifacts upon Nascent Soul Realm disciples to increase their chances of encountering a dead end. Their situation is considerably dire. This is another anomaly. Where are the enemies coming from? The Devilish Dao, whose practitioners can lay waste to a thousand miles with a single success, has been suppressed to death for fifty thousand years; the Demon Race became prey for humans twenty thousand years ago; and though the overseas dragon demons are powerful, they cannot come ashore... Where are the enemies coming from?"

"Tsk tsk," Wang Qi said, looking at the ring. "So, in your eyes, the modern dharma immortal path is completely untrustworthy?"

"Not at all. Judging from Li Ziye and Xiang Qi alone, the modern dharma immortal path should not cut corners in cultivating disciples. Just enter the Modern Dharma Sect through the normal channels. Don't do things like borrowing their power to risk your life."

Wang Qi nodded. "It seems keeping you around is quite useful, old man. Then let me ask you another question, what kind of path is the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao, and how strong can its strongest practitioner be?"

"The Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao, one of the most overbearing sects in the ancient dharma. "Perhaps because he mentioned the name of his enemy, Zhen Chanzi's tone became somewhat gloomy. "Not only in their actions, but also in their inheritance. The ancient inheritance, the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao Scripture, is the most overbearing cultivation technique in the history of immortal cultivation. When one technique emerges, all others are broken... Heh, I never thought that today, we would be beaten down by their 'all techniques'."

"How much of the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao's skill has this Nascent Soul Realm cultivator learned?"

"The stronger the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao cultivation, the more miraculous it becomes. This one can at most be considered a true disciple, and not even a favored one." Zhen Chanzi was quite gloating about the death of the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao disciple. "If they were in the Mahayana stage, they would basically be invincible among peers. Ten thousand years ago, I was on par with the Heaven-Splitting Dao Master of that era as the number one in the world. The modern dharma has only risen for about two thousand years. In the eight thousand years from my Cloud Tower to the birth of the modern dharma, it wouldn't be strange to have three or four more Mahayana cultivators—as long as they weren't killed by modern dharma cultivators."

Wang Qi mused, "If I were to cultivate the ancient dharma, even reaching Mahayana, it would be unlikely to win against a Mahayana stage cultivator of the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao. If I were to cultivate the modern dharma, I fear even an ordinary Grandmaster might not be able to defeat a Mahayana stage cultivator of the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao."

"You should know that to seek revenge, one must learn to endure."

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and faint sunlight pierced through the overcast clouds. Wang Qi, holding Li Ziye's storage bag, stood up and stretched. "My body is stiff... Old man, I must have told you, I'm someone who seeks only pleasure."

"I know."

"If I always feel like I owe someone something, I won't be happy. Things that make me unhappy should be ended sooner rather than later."

After a while, Zhen Chanzi sighed. "I suddenly feel that you actually seem like a normal person now."

"Before, I thought the world had gone mad. So I went mad with it. Then today, I realized the world hasn't gone mad, and I should be happy, so I acted impulsively." Wang Qi said calmly, "Now, I'm not happy."

These words were cryptic, and Zhen Chanzi wanted to ask more. Wang Qi continued, "Those who make me unhappy, I will only make them suffer doubly." After saying that, he looked at the sky, felt that he could see things clearly, and began to rummage through Li Ziye's storage bag.

"What are you doing? Spirit ink, spirit paper... Kid, can you draw talismans?"

Zhen Chanzi watched Wang Qi take out a pile of items from Li Ziye's bag, finding it very strange.

"No, I'm going to copy something."

"Are you being wasteful?" Zhen Chanzi couldn't help but scold. "This is all top-grade spirit paper and spirit ink!"

Wang Qi finally took out a stack of paper from the storage bag. "This."

Zhen Chanzi was dumbfounded. "This is... the Unforgiving Taoist's manuscript!"

"It's not right to not take advantage of benefits. Xiang Qi knows about this stack of manuscripts, so I can't pocket it myself."

Zhen Chanzi warned, "This is not a secret manual. This is something deduced by a Free and Unfettered Stage cultivator. It's incomplete, and there's no accompanying cultivation technique. Can you even understand it?"

Wang Qi chuckled and did not answer.

If his guess was correct, then the Unforgiving Taoist's cultivation technique must have some connection to the theories of the scientist Heisenberg from Earth.

Do you know where I gained experience in my previous life? The Niels Bohr Institute, the holy land of the Copenhagen School, where the scientist Heisenberg fought!