Innumerable miles from this place, verdant peaks soared into the clouds, topped by scattered palaces shrouded in ethereal mist. At this moment, a streak of azure light swiftly streaked across the sky, revealing a flustered young man in a green robe. He quickly遁入 (escaped into) a palace, found a figure, and immediately knelt to the ground.
"Elder Leng, a disciple's soul lamp has extinguished!"
"Why the panic? It's quite normal for cultivators to die and their paths to vanish. Which disciple is it?" The figure stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the sea of clouds, asking indifferently.
The prostrate man's voice trembled: "It's... it's Senior Brother Leng and Junior Brother Zhang!"
"Leng... Is it my nephew Leng Zuofeng?!"
"It is..." The prostrate man responded softly, not daring to breathe.
"Boom!!" Suddenly, heaven and earth changed color, the sea of clouds churned, and the sky instantly became dense with thunder. The sound of thunder continuously echoed through the clouds.
The figure did not turn back the entire time. It was only after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea that he spoke a few words:
"Investigate! Spare no one!"
...
At the foot of an inconspicuous peak within the sprawling mountain range, a few wooden houses were scattered. As dusk settled, a slender figure could be vaguely seen slowly approaching through the dense forest in front of the houses. Just as he reached the doorway, a middle-aged man and an elderly man nearing sixty pushed open the door and walked out.
The middle-aged man had short, thick black hair and wore a close-fitting martial suit, exuding an imposing air without even needing to be angry. The elder, dressed in simple hemp cloth, appeared ordinary, but his eyes, though nearing sixty, revealed a spirit and wisdom that seemed capable of seeing through people.
The boy met the two men precisely at the doorway.
"Not yet fourteen, to have such a physique, you rank among the best in Qingchuan City. Very good indeed," the middle-aged man said indifferently, looking down at the boy from the steps. His gaze was sharp, carrying a sense of pressure.
"This is the old man?" Relying on his memory, Mu Yun recognized the elder as his grandfather, Mu Zhu, with whom he lived.
"Grandpa," Mu Yun bowed to the elder according to the customs of the cultivation world. This was not pretense, but rather a respect from the depths of his soul, compelling Mu Yun to act unconsciously in this manner. He then also bowed to the middle-aged man.
"Elder Zhu, your beloved grandson is good. His body tempering has been successful. How about he joins my Fengyun Martial Arts Hall, what do you think?" the middle-aged man said.
The elder heard this and laughed heartily: "Yun'er has been lazy by nature since childhood and hasn't seen much of the world, so I'm afraid he won't learn the rules."
"Yun'er, this is Lei Gang, the head of the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall. Call him Uncle Lei."
"Hello, Uncle Lei," Mu Yun replied, then subtly bowed again.
The middle-aged man smiled without replying, then turned to the elder and said, "Then, Elder Zhu, I shall take my leave. This matter is settled."
Watching the middle-aged man depart, the elder remained motionless for a long time. Mu Yun, understanding, stood beside him without disturbing him. After another moment, the elder spoke, "Yun'er, come inside with me."
"Lei Gang, the head of Qingchuan City's Fengyun Martial Arts Hall, is one of the top experts in Qingchuan City. It is said that he achieved great success in body tempering at fifteen and is currently at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, just a step away from Foundation Establishment and becoming a true cultivator. His recent comment about you was quite complimentary. I wonder if you can reach his level by fifteen," the elder said, feigning a sigh and shaking his head.
Mu Yun was secretly startled upon hearing this. He was currently fourteen years old and only in the early stage of body tempering, still in the muscle and bone forging phase. Compared to Lei Gang, he was indeed far behind. So, he just smiled and did not reply.
"Hmm, I see you have a minor injury. Did you perhaps encounter a tiger or bear in the forest? With your early Body Tempering cultivation, fighting a tiger or bear should be no problem," Elder Zhu changed the subject, asking Mu Yun.
Mu Yun pondered for a moment and said, "No, I encountered immortals dueling!"
"Oh?" The elder's right hand, holding the bowl, paused almost imperceptibly. He placed the empty teacup upside down on the table and remained silent for a long time.
After a moment, Elder Zhu finally said, "I had a small drink with Lei Gang this afternoon and left some food for you. Go and eat quickly."
Hearing this, Mu Yun suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten in a long time, and a wave of hunger immediately hit him. Mu Yun responded and rushed to the kitchen. He saw a table piled with unwashed dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen. The only consolation was a few cold sweet potatoes left in the middle.
Mu Yun smiled helplessly, washed the dishes and chopsticks clean, arranged them neatly, then picked up a sweet potato and began to eat. Sweet potatoes, this most primitive food, Mu Yun hadn't eaten for a very long time. The faint sweetness made his thoughts drift back to the distant past—before Earth faced the solar flare crisis, when Mu Yun was still a boy, in that not-so-wealthy but very harmonious rural family.
"Both then and now, still just a youth..." Mu Yun's heart was filled with myriad thoughts and emotions.
Just then, Elder Zhu's voice faintly drifted from afar:
"The herbs are in the old spot. Today I've added more dragon's whiskers for you. The medicinal strength is strong, so you'll need to change the water when you bathe. Continue practicing hard tomorrow!!"
"Alas, I'm old and easily tired. Time to sleep."
Whether intentional or not, Elder Zhu made no mention of the immortals' duel. Mu Yun guessed that there must be some reason behind it.
...
Deep into the night, silence enveloped the surroundings. Mu Yun sat cross-legged in the bathing tub, absorbing the effects of the body tempering method of this cultivation world. At the same time, he was also deeply contemplating, trying to understand the fundamental reason why this world could cultivate.
"The initial purpose of the antimatter armament system was to discover and utilize antimatter."
"On Earth, or rather, in the original modern universe, antimatter was almost nonexistent, until recent years, through microscopic astronomical phenomena like the collapse or explosion of stars, antimatter was occasionally captured."
"This antimatter is purer than any other substance or energy in the modern universe."
"And this pure antimatter energy is ubiquitous in the cultivation world, becoming the basic energy source that cultivators can utilize."
Mu Yun clearly felt the power of the medicinal bath, as external energy continuously entered his body, strengthening his physique.
He continued to ponder...
"The reason why creatures in the cultivation world can utilize antimatter for cultivation might be because there are special genetic factors that can resonate with antimatter, converting it into cultivation power."
"And those who cannot cultivate often lack these genetic factors and cannot effectively bond with antimatter."
"This might be what the cultivation world refers to as spiritual energy and spirit roots."
"Antimatter is spiritual energy, and the special genetic factors are spirit roots."
"Both of these conditions must be met simultaneously to cultivate."
Mu Yun's thoughts jumped rapidly, as if entering a deep meditation. He continued to deduce: "So, can the cultivation process be divided into several stages?"
"The Body Tempering stage is the first stage. Perhaps, as I am currently experiencing, the tempering of the physical body not only enhances physical strength but also activates the genetic factors compatible with spiritual energy. Through continuous physical tempering, spiritual energy can smoothly penetrate the body, and the body's spiritual energy absorption capacity is enhanced."
The cultivation process gradually emerged in Mu Yun's mind.
"This should be the core of the Body Tempering stage—to enhance the body's strength and adaptability. Only by undergoing sufficient tempering in the Body Tempering stage can the physical body carry more spiritual energy, laying the foundation for subsequent Qi Condensation."
"Then comes the Qi Condensation stage, by absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, activating the latent spirit roots, which are genetic factors, within the body."
"If the spirit root cannot be activated, the cultivator cannot advance and become a true cultivator, meaning a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"So Foundation Establishment is the first step for cultivators."
Mu Yun smiled slightly: "It seems the cultivation process is not complex; in reality, it's a continuous process of stimulating physical potential, resonating with spiritual energy, and then truly mastering spiritual energy."
"From another perspective, some legends of achieving immortality in ancient Earth might be due to certain individuals inadvertently meeting these two conditions, thus breaking through and gaining the ability to cultivate."
"However, with the rapid development of modern technology, technologies such as oil, electricity, nuclear fusion, and quantum physics continuously advanced, antimatter, as an opposing force to these energies, gradually depleted, or even almost disappeared."
"This may be why the universe of technological civilization cannot cultivate immortality—because in a highly developed technological society, the opportunity for spiritual energy and spirit roots no longer exists."
Mu Yun's thoughts gradually returned to reality: "However, all of this is just my speculation. To verify these, more experiments and validations are needed in this cultivation world."
He then thought again.
"The person with the surname Leng was killed by a single plasma light wave, leading him to mistakenly believe I was a Golden Core Immortal."
"Plasma light wave... Hehe, could it be said that Iron Man, the sci-fi hero of M country, is equivalent to a Golden Core Immortal?"
"But... to reach Iron Man's level with just human strength alone, it's truly something to look forward to."
"Then, what kind of immense power would a Nascent Soul cultivator, who is above a Golden Core Immortal, possess?"
"I wonder how Jane and the others are doing. Earth... what's happening to it now."
Mu Yun's thoughts soared, delving deeper and deeper. The fatigue from the medicine's effects overwhelmed him, causing him to unconsciously fall asleep.
...
Meanwhile, in another room, Elder Zhu remained sleepless for a long time.
"This kid, his behavior is different today. Has he finally understood my painstaking efforts...?"
At this moment, he smiled as he looked towards Mu Yun's room.
"There's a reason I've asked you to chop and bring back ten purple bamboo every day. The difficulty of chopping purple bamboo is best for training strength and endurance."
As he thought, the old man's smile gradually faded, replaced by an expression of extreme seriousness. His eyes gazed at the starry sky outside the window, as if lost in endless memories. "Immortals dueling?! It seems... this is fate."
"If Yun'er hasn't reached Foundation Establishment by sixteen, then, according to your wishes, let him return to the mortal world."
"If I give him hope, then personally crush it, wouldn't I be a sinner...?"
"But if I don't strive for it one more time, what's the difference between me and a sinner?"
"After all... I've been hiding for two thousand years!"
...
Inside the wooden tub, Mu Yun focused on absorbing the medicinal power from the water. The medicinal liquid entered through his skin, relaxing his muscles and bones, penetrating his marrow, making his skeletal structure far stronger than that of ordinary people.
It was past midnight. The color of the medicinal water in the wooden tub had already faded, and vaguely visible at the bottom of the tub was a foot-long, ginseng-like herb glowing with a faint golden light. This was precisely the dragon's whiskers.
Lei Gang's visit today was precisely to exchange these dragon's whiskers for Elder Zhu's promise: to have Mu Yun participate in the Qingchuan City Martial Arts Competition as an undercover member of the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall, helping them win the championship.
But none of this was known to Mu Yun. At this moment, he lay deeply asleep, slumped over the edge of the wooden tub.
Elder Zhu looked at the deeply sleeping Mu Yun, a smile appearing on his face.
"Now Yun'er is unconsciously absorbing the medicinal power; he won't wake up until tomorrow. With this medicinal power and his usual efforts, he will reach the middle stage of Body Tempering when he wakes up tomorrow."
"In these times, spiritual energy is scarce. If it were in the past, with Yun'er's aptitude, it wouldn't be this difficult. Alas, alas."
...