116: Chapter 116 The Way

After arranging Heizhang's "philosophy lesson," Zhang Mingxuan did not return to his Immortal Cave but instead turned toward the rune supercomputer center in the deepest part of the base.

The heavy lead doors slid open slowly, and a biting chill mixed with a low-frequency hum rushed toward him.

The massive rune supercomputer crystal disk floated in mid-air, the flickering frequency of the runes on its surface so fast it formed a solid curtain of light. Even under the full suppression of the liquid cooling System, it still radiated an astonishing amount of heat, like a captive miniature sun.

"DeepEye, report on the progress of the Spiritual Qi Essence Analysis project."

Zhang Mingxuan pressed his hand onto the console, and his Nascent Soul Stage Divine Sense instantly took over the massive machine.

[Project Runtime: 26,280 hours (three years).]

[Computing Load: Full.]

[Current Total Analysis Progress: 0.057%.]

Although the progress bar remained despairingly short, amidst the countless red "Unknown Errors," there was one originally greyed-out theoretical module that was now emitting a faint golden light.

"This is..."

Zhang Mingxuan's pupils constricted slightly.

[Major Milestone Breakthrough: Discovery of the "Information-Carrying" property of Spiritons.]

"Spiritual Qi is more than just energy."

Zhang Mingxuan looked at the Spiriton model on the light screen, magnified billions of times. On the surface of that energy sphere, which was only the size of the Planck scale, there were actually carved some extremely tiny, constantly changing... wave patterns.

After billions of comparisons, DeepEye reached a conclusion that was almost sacrilegious:

"These patterns are the 'Dao'."

Every Spiriton is like a miniature storage unit. The reason Fire Spiritual Qi is explosive is that its surface carries the information codes for "release" and "heat"; the reason Earth Spiritual Qi is heavy is that it carries the codes for "gravity" and "solidification."

When a Cultivator practices, the so-called "comprehending the Heavenly Dao" is essentially using their Divine Sense to read, understand, and ultimately attempt to "rewrite" the information on these Spiritons.

"No wonder the Nascent Soul Stage can achieve a degree of 'speech becoming Law' and rewrite the Laws of heaven and earth on a small scale. It's because the strength of a Nascent Soul's Divine Sense is already sufficient to 'overwrite' the Spiriton's factory settings on a macroscopic level and write in its own instructions."

Zhang Mingxuan felt his mouth go dry. This was the true underlying source code of the cultivation world.

"Since the Five Elements attributes are 'written information,' then..."

He looked at another corner of the screen, where the analysis model for "chaotic qi" was displayed.

[Model Deduction: Chaos State (Ground State).]

[When the information patterns on the surface of the Spiriton are completely erased and the spin returns to zero, the Spiritual Qi will return to a "Ground State" that is attribute-less and featureless, yet possesses infinite plasticity.]

It is not a chaotic mixture, but the purest blank slate.

"If I can create a 'formatting' force field to restore all Spiritual Qi entering the range back to the Ground State, and then..." Zhang Mingxuan reached out and clenched his fist in the void, "write my own rules."

That would be creation.

Of course, with his current Early Nascent Soul stage Divine Sense, trying to precisely rewrite even a single Spiriton would be exhausting enough to make him cough up blood, let alone creation.

But this discovery pointed the way for that attribute-less Spiritual Root project named Origin.

Zhang Mingxuan's gaze was calm. "What I need is a reverse Formation capable of continuously generating a 'formatting force field'."

"DeepEye, transmit this theoretical model to Shen Weilan. Tell him I want him to design a structure that can 'reverse' the operation of all Five Elements Formations. Call it... the Zeroing Formation."

The hum of the rune supercomputer seemed to grow higher, as if trembling for this moment of peeking into the secrets of heaven. Yet Zhang Mingxuan merely recorded the data that was enough to overturn the cultivation world and then turned to leave.

The earlier one knows such forbidden knowledge, the faster they die. Until he has enough power to implement it, this can only be the deepest secret in his mind.

...

Beneath the Southern Borders, the main trunk of the Spiritual Vein that had been rushing ceaselessly now showed signs of being cut off.

This was not exhaustion, but a forced interception by some terrifying suction. All Spiritual Qi, whether it was the violent Earth Fire Evil Qi or the gentle Water and Wood Essence Qi, was swept into a massive vortex located in the deepest part of the base.

At the center of the vortex, Zhang Mingxuan sat cross-legged.

If an outsider were here, their Dao Heart would surely collapse from the sight. Above his head, the "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown" phenomenon was as solid as jade. The Nascent Soul, which was originally only an inch tall, had now grown to over half a foot, radiating a five-colored divine light that one dared not look at directly.

Under DeepEye's fully automated Cultivate System and the terrifying absorption efficiency of the Huntian Spiritual Root, the magic power that ordinary Cultivators would take decades of painstaking effort to accumulate was compressed into just over seven hundred days and nights.

This was no longer cultivation; it was the plundering of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

*Boom—*

As if a dam had been breached by a flood.

The Nascent Soul within Zhang Mingxuan's body suddenly opened its eyes and let out a clear, long cry. The surrounding Spiritual Qi cocoon, which was almost solid, instantly exploded, turning into countless motes of light that merged into his limbs and bones.

Mid-stage Nascent Soul.

In just two years, from the Early Nascent Soul stage to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul. In the history of the Nascent Soul Stage, this was absolutely unprecedented.

DeepEye's cold data stream slid through his Sea of Consciousness:

[Realm Update: Mid-stage Nascent Soul.]

[Total Spiritual Qi: 42,500,000 Units.]

[Recovery Efficiency: 120,000 Units/min (Passive + Active Absorption).]

Zhang Mingxuan slowly stood up, feeling the power within him that seemed capable of easily tearing through space, yet his expression remained calm. For him, possessing the Huntian Spiritual Root, this speed was just a normal performance.

He straightened his robes, pushed open the door of the secret chamber, and walked into the command center.

Su Li, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward. After two years, the President of the Bian Chamber of Commerce appeared even more capable, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had deepened, clearly indicating he had been worrying a lot during this time.

"Congratulations on ending your seclusion, My Lord! Your cultivation has advanced greatly!" Su Li had sharp eyes and naturally felt that the abyss-like pressure was even more intense than before.

"Enough small talk." Zhang Mingxuan took the main seat. "What about the branch offices I asked for?"

"I have not failed your command!"

Su Li's spirits lifted as he opened the light screen displaying the map of the entire cultivation world, which had already expanded, and pointed to three newly lit-up spots on it.