Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 988 - 72: The Disappeared People

Regarding all the actions of immortals, the Immortal Alliance only makes speculations based on the little intelligence obtained from the Banished Immortals and the Dragon Clan, as well as the commonality of animals.

However, even just that little bit of intelligence makes one feel eerie.

The world of immortals is absolutely not peaceful, happy, or carefree.

On the contrary, the Ultimate Picture of this universe implies that there is unpleasantness among immortals.

An immortal, after painstakingly attaining longevity and breaking free from the constraints of time upon life, what is his next step?

Perhaps some immortals really have secluded themselves to live happy lives, because this "group" lacks commonality, and the emergence of any "singularity" would not be surprising. However, based on the "characteristics" of Shenzhou Ancient Method Practitioners and the various behaviors of Banished Immortals, it is speculated that what they wish for next is strength.

When being mortals, people can loudly ask: "A thousand Great Daos, myriad spells, I only ask one sentence 'Is it possible to attain longevity?'" Yet immortals who have already gained longevity need strength even more to defend the Elixir of Immortality in their hands.

This demands them to be stronger than anyone else.

"Stronger than anyone else," is actually very difficult. And this universe has existed for over forty billion years. Forty billion years, on this scale of time, how many Longevity Guests have been born? How powerful are the oldest existing Longevity Guests?

If the accumulation speed for immortals to become strong is a linear process, even if that growth is very slow, it would still be enough for many powerful ones to grow.

Of course, many immortals do not know this. However, as they travel through the heavens and earth, they ought to know the ancientness of the universe.

If they were to hypothetically face an "ancient fossil," what should those newly-born immortals do?

The answer is plunder.

Plunder wisdom from civilizations, plunder strength from planets.

In terms of probability, this is the daily life of immortals.

Moreover, immortals are mostly the kind that "want to do what they want" immediately. They act recklessly, without compromise, without violating their own heart intent. They are immortals, and for them, if they have to live immortally unhappily for a long time, they would rather not cultivate and die happily.

If immortals were to form a stable organization, it would most likely be under the pressure of a powerful individual.

As for why that powerful individual would want to form a stable organization... who knows? Maybe that powerful individual just likes it this way?

Immortals are such creatures. "I like it" can become the biggest reason.

Just like that Nascent Soul Stage cultivator in the Heavenly Book Tower said, wanting to kill, then kill; wanting to save, then save, without needing other reasons.

Who dares to bet their life on the whims of a group with indeterminate hearts?

This is probably also why the Dragon Clan rejects the "Undying Beasts."

The goal of the Immortal Alliance is to possess the strength that makes those "Undying Beasts" dare not have the thought of "killing."

To the Holy Emperor Venerable, the refugees on Spirit Phoenix Island are just livestock. He now wants to save them, but it's unpredictable when he might want to kill. If these tens of thousands of people each possessed the power of the Body Integration Realm, how could the Holy Emperor Venerable dare to treat them as livestock?

But now, the life and death of these mortals still depend on the Holy Emperor Venerable.

Perhaps, the Holy Emperor Venerable already started "sharpening the knife toward pigs and sheep."

Thinking about the mysterious disappearance of those millions of people, Wang Qi also felt somewhat heavy-hearted. He conveyed orders to Lian Xinjie and Lian Xingling through a specific magic artifact.

"Inquire about those mortals worshiping gods on the island, and inquire about those missing persons."

Lian Xinjie pressed the jade pendant at his waist, while Lian Xingling touched a hairpin on the back of her head, smiling wryly.

This magic artifact was given to them by Wang Qi specifically before the task.

At this moment, the two of them were already separated, heading respectively to the east and west sides of the refugee area, prepared to find containers to dissolve the elixir and distribute it to those disaster victims.

For them, as Golden Core cultivators, this task wasn't difficult at all. They casually use mana to gather a mass of mud from the ground, roughly shape it into a container, and then use True Fire on it. Because cultivators have strong mana and the power of True Fire is not weak, the temporarily fired clay pots can also naturally have a layer of glaze. Then, they either gather moisture from the sea, evaporate it several times into fresh water, or directly condense pure water from the air, filling the one-person tall, multi-person embraced ceramic pots. Next, they toss in one elixir, requiring the disaster victims to divide it amongst themselves.

If done outside, such distribution of food would easily cause a scramble. However, the deterrent power of the cultivators is truly too strong. Just like on Earth, a group of gun-bearing soldiers distributing supplies in a disaster area — especially since this group of soldiers also have the freedom to shoot.

There was no scramble or chaos; everyone obediently queued up.

As obedient as a flock of sheep.

The homes of the refugees had been destroyed, and anyone with a bowl was considered very wealthy. Yet some were still willing to share, and many took turns using a single bowl to ladle some alchemy water from the clay jar to fill their stomachs.

Setting up such a "food distribution point" only took a Golden Core Cultivator a few minutes. Lian Xinjie set up one of these "distribution points" every hundred feet. After about three hours, he had completed several.

After finishing the tasks assigned by the Holy Emperor Venerable, Lian Xinjie began to do what Wang Qi had instructed. As he patrolled back and forth, he found that some of the disaster victims were still holding onto shrines. Moreover, Lian Xinjie quickly discovered something absurd—the number of refugees holding shrines was even greater than those who had bowls.

In the flood that destroyed everything, many shrines seemed to have some peculiar power and weren't washed away. Many people firmly believed it was a divine miracle. Among the refugees, there were many legends suggesting that the shrines protected people. Just after undergoing the "Heavenly Calamity and Immortal Calamity," far from despairing, many people were feverish, with some even kneeling in the mud around shrines, fervently worshipping.

"Bring one here, I want to study it." At this moment, Wang Qi gave a new instruction.

Lian Xinjie was unwilling to take away those shrines surrounded by fervent believers. That would likely cause chaos. His gaze swept the area, and he noticed a child holding a shrine. The child was very dirty, but his eyes were bright, containing a peculiar light. Unlike his peers, he was not hunched but rather robust. He stood on the edge of the crowd, tightly holding the shrine in his arms, with no one else kneeling before it.

Lian Xinjie pretended to pass by casually and smiled slightly at the little boy: "Kid, that shrine looks interesting, let me take a look."

Although he said "borrow," he had no intention of negotiating with the boy, directly using mana to take the shrine, gather some clean water to cleanse it, and then carefully examined it.

The little boy was stunned at first, then jumped up and cursed: "You fake Immortals again... You took my parents, now you want my family shrine too? Give back my shrine! Give back my parents!"

"Parents"? "Took"? Lian Xinjie's heart stirred, yet inside he felt satisfaction.

—Could this be a clue to the "missing persons"?

"You little brat, don't slander. If your parents died in that flood, it should be blamed on those Evil Demons who invaded our Spirit Phoenix Island, how can you blame me?"

"I'll punch you, you jabbering, pustule-ridden pale face!" The boy's face turned red: "My parents only went missing the day before yesterday, and by then, the Evil Demons were already gone... huh uh..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Before the little boy could finish, a lump of yellow mud flew over, splattering his face. Then, several more lumps knocked him down. A few people looked at the boy indifferently, but more were looking at him with resentment.

The Golden Core Cultivator's spirit was harmonious. Lian Xinjie sensed some of the malice and resentment were also directed at him. However, most people did not dare to harbor malice towards a Cultivator, so much of the ill will was directed at the boy.

—They resented him for speaking about something!

Lian Xinjie gained a bit of understanding. He relayed this discovery to Wang Qi and asked: "Mr. Wang, should I continue investigating?"

Wang Qi pondered for a moment: "No need. I've already realized that some people disappeared after that battle... It's probably the work of the Holy Emperor Venerable."

The division between Spirit Phoenix Island Cultivators and Mortals was much greater than on the Shenzhou Continent. Once inside the Underground City, it was like entering a different world, with no interaction between the "lowly people" on the island's surface and the Cultivators in the Underground City. No cultivator cared about the disappearing people.

After all, they were forced by the Holy Emperor Venerable to come to the rescue.

Confirming this explained many things.

As for deeper issues, the Cultivators might not even know, and investigating here wouldn't yield results.

As Wang Qi and Lian Xinjie spoke, the boy had already cleared the mud from his mouth. He wanted to continue, but soon got knocked down again. This time, the muddy water seemed intent on burying him alive, constantly pouring in from all sides.

Everyone resented this guy for provoking the Cultivator.

—They're here to deliver food! Angering the Immortal Master now would mean death for everyone!

Lian Xinjie looked at the little boy and shook his head slightly.

Inopportune courage.

This Spirit Phoenix Island was not a place where anyone could succeed against the odds with just a fervent spirit. Challenging the strong was unwise.

In the past, even Lian Yichen would have killed this boy. However, now that he had joined the Immortal Alliance and with Wang Qi watching, he dared not do so, to avoid leaving a record. He even thought of saving him.

At this moment, Wang Qi issued another order.

Lian Xinjie suddenly flicked his sleeve and skillfully rescued the boy. Dropping down a little, he took out a jade clip and a small jade bottle, tossing them onto the boy's face: "Interesting little fellow. If you really want to defeat us Cultivators, then cultivate, resent, and curse, and then live wretchedly, constantly running away just to survive... Until you truly master the cultivation technique inside, then come find me."

Then, Lian Xinjie slowly ascended again, loudly declaring: "This kid is somewhat interesting. Those items are mine to give him; you're not allowed to take them!"

No one responded.