Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 596 - 347 "Outsourcing

After coming out of the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm, Wang Qi nearly fell to the ground. He immediately communicated with Zhen Chan, "This afternoon, I finally understood why Teacher Feng decided unabatedly to flatten Divine Capital. It seems the Immortal Alliance has long felt discontent towards Divine Capital."

"To be honest, I still disapprove of you testing Feng Luoyi in this way. If it goes wrong, people could genuinely die."

"Ever since the Immortal Dao Burning Book List appeared and when the Divine Capital's local family started hobnobbing with Banished Immortals, I sensed that the relationship between the Immortal Alliance and Divine Capital might not be that of a hog breeder and the pigs." Wang Qi said, "When Teacher Feng unsheathed the Liangtian Sword without a second word, I had some clarity. To the Immortal Alliance, cultivators from Divine Capital are just house-tamed tigers, right?"

"Very ferocious?"

"For display purposes." Wang Qi sneered, "But tigers eat too much. If the ticket sales can't cover the cost of the meat, isn't the only option to kill them?"

It was like a zoo. Divine Capital was merely a "tiger" that the Immortal Alliance kept for others to see, their "ticket sales" being "public image," and their payment of "meat" being tolerance of the misbehavior of Divine Capital cultivators.

What happens if the cost of meat surpasses ticket sales? Sustainability issues arise.

Earth's zoos already provided the answer.

Only killing remains an option.

Zhen Chan sighed, "To know that the Carefree Practitioners want to kill you, yet their first response is not to report to the Immortal Alliance, but to contact you. If such a person was under my command, I would certainly not hesitate to find a pretext to execute him."

Wang Qi bitter-smiled, "I thought the same. And this made me think of an even more terrifying possibility."

Zhen Chan chuckled darkly, "You are their 'pretext'!"

"That is to say, there exists a possibility that regardless of whether or not I complete the Anti-Demon Spell, a Heavenly Sword is destined to fall from the sky." Wang Qi bitter-smiled and shook his head, "If it weren't so, my attempt to test the Divine Capital Families wouldn't have been glossed over so easily."

Zhen Chan curiously asked, "How so?"

"In the eyes of the Immortal Alliance, those from the Divine Capital Families are not even considered human." Wang Qi said emotionlessly, "Had I laid my hands on commoners today, the consequences would be grave."

Abusing power over the weak is disruptive to the order, exceeding the bottom line of the Immortal Alliance.

"Indeed, that's true," Zhen Chan first agreed, then expressed doubt, "But, with the Immortal Alliance's power, pretending an accident to eliminate the entire Divine Capital Families wouldn't be especially difficult, right? Initially, Feng Luoyi didn't stop you from developing the Heart Demon Curse, indicating that it was still within the tolerable range of the Immortal Alliance, who themselves have similar practical evidence. Not to mention, Feng Luoyi taught you the Divine Plague Curse Technique."

"Indeed, why me?"

"I do have one or two speculations," Zhen Chan said, "The first is, they want to conveniently get rid of you."

Wang Qi shook his head, "Not likely. Even if I hadn't achieved anything before, the Immortal Alliance wouldn't bother to specifically kill me, at most they would just isolate me with other Banished Immortals. Besides, I'm just an individual, not a group. To make an individual disappear without anyone noticing doesn't require too many methods."

"Then it's the other possibility. Divine Capital cultivators have recently crossed a line. You, young man, just happened to be there at the right time."

"Bad luck... can't blame society, right?" Wang Qi was resigned.

"Of course, there's also a possibility that you are a special case, and Feng Luoyi is scheming something from you—but after giving it some thought, lad, aside from being slightly sharp-witted, there's nothing noteworthy about you that the Carefree Practitioners would scheme for. If he truly wanted your talents, he'd rather simply lock you up and force you to produce results."

After completing today's report, Wang Qi quickly walked to his room. The situation remained perilous. The entire Divine Capital was placed on a thin wire, maintaining a fragile balance. Just a breeze could potentially disrupt this dynamic equilibrium.

The most frustrating part was that atmospheric movement is a chaotic system, unpredictable to foresee when the wind might blow.

To survive, one must tread carefully, seizing every moment to create opportunities to escape. If the culprits in the city don't find an exit before it collapses, they face only a dead end.

After returning to his room, Wang Qi immediately connected to the Heart Demon Network. Those inflicted with the Heart Demon Curse acted as his bugs and cameras. His attention first turned to the recently incorporated Chen Family of Piaoyun. However, at this moment, the Chen Family, apart from serving as a breeding ground, held no more values to note. He quickly shifted his focus to the Du Family.

Zhao Qingfeng and Prince Wu Yi Sheng were still at the Du's. Oddly, they were not lounging in the parlor or the inner chambers but were walking around an outer courtyard.

For some reason, all the cultivators of the Du Family stayed far away, watching these two distinguished guests occasionally stoop to touch the ground, yet dared not approach. Du Baiwu, with a complicated expression, stood at a distance, not daring to come closer.

He knew that the Du Family had lost the trust of the Divine Capital's elite. Wang Qi inexplicably came to the Du Family, sending messages on their behalf, while mysterious traces were left on the ground. Hindered by Wang Qi's presence, they couldn't reveal the truth about that battle to the others.

Through Du Baiwu's eyes, Wang Qi noticed that those two fellows were examining the traces left from the battle on the ground. The Yanyue Sect did not advocate brute strength, hence the recent battle hadn't left many clues. Due to remarkable control over mana, the floor tiles shattered during the final fight between Wang Qi and Du Baiwu were even less than those broken by the Du Family's Golden Cores who lost their sense of direction due to "New Moon". However, it was enough to reveal much.

Wang Qi thought for a moment and switched to the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell network.

"The ground temperature is slightly low. By the time Du Bin came to find us, we had already been delayed by two hours. Given the time elapsed, it's evident that a Nascent Soul Cultivator had intervened," Yi Sheng deduced.

Zhao Qingfeng suddenly felt bewildered. Wang Qi had stolen his thoughts. He pondered, "Defeating a Nascent Soul with merely a Foundation Establishment stage could only be the work of the elite among Modern Cultivators. But as far as I know, Wang Qi doesn't solely follow the path of Modern Outer Dao; how could he achieve this?"

"Perhaps his talents are too high?" Yi Sheng was not concerned. For centuries, he had grown accustomed to a world where a Foundation Establishment might just defeat a Nascent Soul. He was more concerned about another matter, "Anyway, Divine Capital is about to be destroyed, that's absolutely certain."

"What do you plan to do at this time? Escape?"

Yi Sheng smiled and shook his head, "The more such a time, the less you can flee. First of all, Divine Capital is too big a target to escape. Secondly, our running away might incite chaos, and Wang Qi could exploit that chaos. Since the Immortal Alliance is willing to destroy Divine Capital to kill him, it's not impossible that they would destroy it in advance to prevent his escape."

"So, you mean we best eliminate Wang Qi and curry favor with the Immortal Alliance?"

"That's not good either. Wang Qi once said that his life is tied to a certain interest of the Immortal Alliance. Perhaps killing him would sever some clue, lose some treasure, or possibly make something coveted by the Immortal Alliance fall into our hands." Prince Wu, who was not a fool, cautiously refused this suggestion.

Zhao Qingfeng nodded, "I am really curious about what method he used to coerce the Immortal Alliance. We must obtain that method, at least before the Immortal Alliance deciphers it."

"Then there's the Du Family. Although he and a child of the Du Family are contemporaries in the Immortal Institute, their relationship is far from harmonious. Why he would choose the Du Family as a mediator, and how he persuaded them, are intriguing questions."

"It must have involved a fight," said Yi Sheng. "However, Du Baiwu, that old fox, shouldn't be so easily cowed by threats."

"Could he have used some underhanded trick?" Zhao Qingfeng remembered the Divine Spirit Wang Qi had handed to him.

Yi Sheng was skeptical, "Whether it's Gu Poison or a Curse, it's impossible for a Foundation Establishment to control a Nascent Soul family. Gu Curses that control others have a price."

Meanwhile, Jarvis suddenly popped up a dialogue box to remind Wang Qi: Zhao Qingfeng suspects you used the Heart Demon Curse. Suggest immediately executing Plan Eleven.

Wang Qi switched back to the Divine Plague Curse Technique network and broadcast commands through this network.

Du Family Nascent Soul Cultivator Du Zhengxing was feeling stifled. In this battle, he was the most frustrated Nascent Soul. At least Du Tianxing had a decent exchange with Wang Qi, but he was knocked down by Wang Qi's Mysterious Uncertainty Cloud Sword the moment he showed up. After receiving Wang Qi's instructions, a nameless rage surged in his heart.

"That brat caused me to lose major face, no matter his schemes, I have to go against him!"

Initially, Du Zhengxing still harbored a sense of depression deep inside, feeling that no matter what he did, he could not harm a hair on Wang Qi. He was just a minor Nascent Soul, not even worthy of being glanced at by his adversary. But, after Wang Qi deliberately suppressed the Heart Demon Curse, his feeling of despair gradually receded, replaced by raging fury.

"I must not let that brat get away with this!"

With that thought, Du Zhengxing gathered mana into a thin thread of sound and sent his voice into Zhao Qingfeng's ear: "Gu."

Zhao Qingfeng trembled, then stabilized himself, continuing to talk to Yi Sheng as if nothing had happened, but he similarly responded with a Spiritual Sense Transmission, "What?"

"Wang Qi, Du Family, Gu, non-flesh, Azure Spirit Body…" With each word Du Zhengxing said, the chill in his heart intensified. By the time he said "Azure Spirit Body," his mind plunged into a pit of despair, and he fell to his knees.

"What a tyrannical restriction! Even speaking triggers it?" Zhao Qingfeng was terrified as he watched Du Zhengxing slowly fall.

At the right moment, Wang Qi sent a message into Zhao Qingfeng's mind—Such terrifying Gu Poison must be studied for how to break it.

"Gu Worms of the Azure Spirit Body. Humph, it seems we need to capture some Du Family disciples for study. At least, we need to know the Breaking Technique, so as not to be schemed against by Wang Qi."

Good!

Wang Qi clenched his fist excitedly.

Controlling the Du Family was not his sole purpose. Chen Feng's approach of using mana to refine the power of Demon Spells mainly relied on experimentation and trial and error. Practically more physical labor than mental labor. Outsourcing this project to the local forces of Divine Capital was indeed one of his goals! (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)