After discussing some details that Li Xingkong didn't quite understand, the matter was largely settled after a while.
There were no setbacks, no conflicts or contradictions; everything went smoothly.
The main reason is that both sides reached a win-win situation in this matter, without either side gaining more or mindlessly testing the other's bottom line.
One represents the official image, while the other is only concerned with their own cultivation and doesn't care about petty gains. Under such circumstances, cooperation is bound to be facilitated quickly.
If it weren't officials who came today, but some group or enterprise, those negotiators wouldn't have held back. They would have used every means to seize most of the benefits and power into their own hands. If they found that Li Xingkong lacked confidence, simply wiping him out would have been a common tactic.
After discussing the cooperation, Old Tang also began to express his curiosity about cultivation.
Li Xingkong had already seen the Hibernating Dragon Technique when Tang Cheng was testing it. In this matter, Li Xingkong did not ask them to keep it a secret. In Li Xingkong's view, whether the skill was passed on or not was a minor matter.
After all, there is a major obstacle of Spiritual Qi. Even if everyone has a copy of the Hibernating Dragon Technique and masters it, they still cannot embark on the path of cultivation.
At most, it will only improve learning efficiency a little.
Moreover, the difficulty of the Hibernating Dragon Technique is inherent, and there aren't many people with the perseverance to complete it.
He originally thought that the cultivation Li Xingkong talked about was something mysterious and esoteric, using various semantics and Huhu descriptions to increase the difficulty and prevent people from getting started.
But after seeing the Hibernating Dragon Technique, his opinion changed; the skill wasn't as mysterious as he had thought.
He could understand every sentence and comprehend its meaning, but when it came to practicing it, he simply couldn't do it, or rather, it was very difficult for him.
This is like someone telling you a method that guarantees you'll get into Tsinghua University.
First, take the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao); second, score above the Tsinghua admission line; third, list Tsinghua University as your first choice.
It sounds simple, right? Anyone can understand it, and anyone can learn it.
But whether you can do it? That depends on the individual.
Especially after briefly reviewing the amount of information in this technique and the complexity of the corresponding visualization diagrams, Old Tang had to admit that even if this technique couldn't be practiced, it still had high scientific research value.
Its understanding of the human brain has reached a level that modern science cannot reach. In the eyes of the creator of this technique, the structure of the human brain is like a series of building blocks that can be combined and assembled at will to create the desired effect.
Modern biology's understanding of the human brain is still very rudimentary, so rudimentary that many of the cultivation methods mentioned in this technique cannot be effectively experimentally observed.
But without a doubt, its value in scientific research alone is comparable to that of a divine book.
These are some of the clues that only technical personnel can discover. If someone is not from a technical background and doesn't care about these things, then this book is indeed of little use to them.
It's not even nearly as good as those bestselling marketing books in stores, like " The Thick Black Theory " or " Teaching You to Succeed."
"Comrade Xiao Li, regarding spiritual cultivation, you seem to have the deepest understanding. But can spiritual cultivation truly grant immortality?"
When it comes to cultivation, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, immortality. If it weren't for the pursuit of longevity, there wouldn't be so many mysterious cultivation stories.
"I don't know about immortality, but living much longer is certain."
To be honest, Li Xingkong hadn't studied lifespan too much. After all, his body had undergone tremendous changes since he embarked on cultivation, and he didn't know if the lifespan that ordinary people talked about still had any meaning for him.
"System? Can you answer this?"
Li Xingkong asked the system in his mind.
"After embarking on the path of cultivation, lifespan does indeed change. Or rather, the subsequent path of cultivation is about extending one's lifespan limit."
This is the first time the issue of a cultivator's lifespan has been mentioned, and the system provides a very detailed explanation.
"After entering the Qi Refining and completing Body Tempering, one is far removed from the so-called birth, aging, sickness, and death of ordinary people. The lifespan of those who have successfully cultivated Qi Refining is limited by the degree of Body Tempering and the lifespan of the materials themselves."
"For example, when you Body Tempering, if you imitate copper or iron, those materials will decay and become unbearable after a few hundred years. If you cannot advance in time, or if your body's recovery ability is insufficient, the material itself will reach its lifespan, which corresponds to the upper limit of Qi Refining cultivator's life."
Even if one's body is Body Tempering with gold, achieving a structure that remains stable for millions of years, there is still another major hurdle for the Qi Refining, known as the Soul Tribulation.
"The human body has limited structure, and the memory storage capacity within the body also has an upper limit. When you live long enough, there will eventually come a day when your memories fill your entire body, and at that point, you will have to make choices about your life."
"Memories that have been manually discarded, can they still be considered proof that you've lived? Being confined by the container of memories may seem like an option for immortality, but whether the person who ultimately survives is still yourself remains to be seen."
"This is what's known as the Soul Tribulation. Without overcoming this hurdle, one cannot achieve immortality."
After passing the second hurdle, the third hurdle is called the Mayfly Tribulation.
As mentioned before embarking on the Qi Refining, the Sun and Moon Qi Refining Method relies on the sun as its energy source. While the life of stars is long, it is ultimately not eternal, and all galaxies will one day die.
After overcoming the Soul Tribulation, a cultivator's lifespan can be described as being as long as the sun, and this so-called lifespan as long as the sun is indeed real.
On the day the sun goes out, the practitioners who depend on it for their livelihood will also perish, like floating creatures in the night.
Therefore, it is also called the Mayfly Tribulation.
Having passed this hurdle, one can roam freely throughout the vast universe, and can be considered to live as long as the heavens. The next hurdle is called the Cocoon-Breaking Tribulation ".
The ancients likened the known universe to an egg, with the sun and moon as its yolk. Cultivators also have a similar view, though they refer to the entire universe they have traversed as an egg.
As a single entity, the universe is subject to the theory of increasing entropy. Within a single, functioning collective, everything is constantly transitioning from order to disorder.
Therefore, although those who live as long as the heavens have infinite life, they will eventually return to nothingness. At this time, the entire universe must be regarded as an eggshell, and the cultivator will become the one who breaks out of the shell. If the breakthrough is successful and one steps into the Void Sea, the universe will be connected with the outside world. Then it will stop or reverse the inevitable increase in entropy and continue its own existence. Breaking the universe and jumping into the Void Sea is called Cocoon-Breaking.