Chapter 200

Of course, in this fantasy about the future of the Wastelands, you didn't linger too long, because Jingxin Daoren's advice was correct: the future is all fantasy, only the present is reality……

The local customs of Central Province have completely surpassed your imagination; after the Four Wastelands all fell into a dark age, Central Province surprisingly still maintained quite good order, although the way to establish order is unpleasant, but at least they achieved symbiosis.

Under this model, in Central Province, from mortals to cultivators, almost everyone is beaming with joy, practically becoming a utopia!

Although you don't know whether the Heavenly Court's rule in the mythic era was good or bad, the vibrant Central Province still makes you feel that this place retains a remnant of the mythic Heavenly Court's atmosphere; at least everyone is happy, and in the apocalypse, everyone being happy is itself a luxury.

You sat on the teleportation array, step by step approaching Mount Buzhou; each time you passed a cave-heaven node, you carefully swept the area with your divine sense to see whether every place in Central Province was as beautiful as before.

The facts prove that the old man earlier wasn't talking nonsense; on each node you passed, the same model was implemented: cultivators raise mortals, mortals contribute souls, forming a positive cycle.

Thus, under this perfect rearing environment, mortals naturally increase, and with a continual supply of spiritual energy, the cultivators' community will also grow, their numbers ever increasing, their cultivation ever rising!

Even from your extreme perspective, this set of model is quite perfect; aside from the psychological discomfort, it is almost the optimal solution for the Age of Dharma Decline.

Hearing everyone's cheerful voices, you couldn't help but sigh softly: If only the cultivators of the Western Wasteland could also be human like this……

Take a look at the folks of the Western Wasteland—what a bunch of worthless people; aside from the frauds who claim to be the orthodox path, only the demonic path's terrorists remain!

Under their exploitation, the Western Wasteland's commoners barely retain a human shape, and the number of Western Wasteland cultivators never increases—at most ten thousand in a cave-heaven blessed land.

Under Central Province's symbiotic utopia system, a cave-heaven blessed land has at least fifty thousand cultivators, and often even a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand!

This gap simply cannot be measured by reason……

But you also made a strange discovery: although there are many cultivators in Central Province, their overall quality is low!

This isn't due to a lack of spiritual energy; in fact, the spiritual energy in Central Province's cave-heavens is far richer than that in the Western Wasteland's cave-heavens, after all the mortal population base here is such that even if only natural deaths occurred, it would still be far more efficient than the Western Wasteland orthodox path's fraud and deception.

Not understanding the reason, you simply halted the teleportation array, casually picked a cave-heaven, flared your cultivation, opened your mouth, and the cave-heaven master immediately came crawling forward to greet the immortal……

"I ask, you answer."

You earnestly asked: "Why is the cultivation of everyone in your cave-heaven so low?"

The local cave-heaven master:?

The cave-heaven master replied cautiously: "Not low, isn't everyone like this?"

This answer wasn't to your liking, you furrowed your brows, and changed your phrasing: "On average, how many years does it take you to become a True Immortal?"

This……

The cave-heaven master's heart jolted, thinking you, this immortal, were questioning the quality of local cultivators, and he proudly replied: "Honored Upper Immortal, our local cultivators generally need only seven hundred years to become immortals! Countless talents have been sent to the immortal realm through the ages!"

As soon as he said that, the bored Jingxin Daoren beside him widened his eyes and then couldn't help laughing: "I thought Central Province had many geniuses, but they're just wine sacks and rice bags—with such rich spiritual energy, they still need seven hundred years to become immortals!"

Hearing that, the cave-heaven master's face fell; he had wanted to sternly rebuke this outsider barbarian for spouting nonsense, but sensing Jingxin's true immortal aura, he still knew the times and gave an embarrassed laugh: "Ah, right, right, our Central Province is just pathetic, you Western Wasteland grandpa are the real grandpa……

Upon hearing the figure of seven hundred years, you were stunned for a while, because that number is truly pathetic!

Not to mention your own outrageous feat of becoming an immortal in three days, just the average you observed in the Western Wasteland is far less than seven hundred: the orthodox path deceives people more slowly, so the time needed to become an immortal is generally longer, roughly an average of over two hundred years to become an immortal.

The demonic path is even faster—within a hundred years, one can basically become an immortal!

Whether orthodox or demonic, in terms of cultivation speed and immortal-achieving speed, they are far faster than Central Province's average; such a strong contrast really makes one unable to hold back laughter……

Despite Central Province occupying absolute institutional and resource advantages, the cultivation efficiency is so moving…… Is it really that the Western Wasteland grandpa has abundant immortal virtue, while Central Province's worthless folks are utterly incapable?

In that case, perhaps Central Province needs to import a batch of high-quality talent from the Western Wasteland to inject cultivation genes into Central Province……

The more you thought, the more you shook your head: No, definitely not!

Mortals in the central and western regions inherently have no difference; especially under the same Age of Dharma Decline's influence, the mortal's cultivation aptitude is even less likely to show obvious differences due to external influences.

"Individual differences are normal, but it's absolutely impossible to have regional-level aptitude differences…… There must be some other cause!"

You thought silently, then carefully observed the local cultivators' cultivation process.

You could clearly see that the local cultivators' cultivation efficiency is extremely low; although the cave-heaven's spiritual energy is very rich, they simply can't draw it in, as if sucking water with a straw in a pool.

Meanwhile, the Western Wasteland cultivators' efficiency in memory is like an enlarged straw, far higher than the locals!

As for yourself, you are normally like a water pump, your efficiency existing in a completely different dimension from theirs……

You looked left and right, changing research subjects one after another, yet never discovered any factor that could affect cultivation efficiency; it really seems as if the locals' aptitude is inherently inferior to the Western Wasteland grandpa by a head!

"Could it really be that Central Province folks are just incapable?"

Holding this puzzling doubt, you and the grimacing Jingxin Daoren finally bade farewell to the sweat-drenched cave-heaven master, stepped onto the ancient teleportation array, and continued toward the destination, Mount Buzhou.

As for the issue of differing cultivation speeds between the central and western regions, you at this stage truly can't do anything; you can only leave it for later investigation, believing there will be a very important secret therein……

……

After who knows how many teleportation array transfers, you and Jingxin Daoren observed the cultivators' conditions in various places while chatting idly about the aptitude issue.

Unlike you, Jingxin Daoren seems to have been awakened by the previous aptitude gap to some inexplicable pride: Central Province's worthless folks are utterly incapable, while the Western Wasteland grandpa has abundant immortal virtue!

Basically, he engaged in all kinds of mockery and belittling of Central Province folks, boasting and glorifying Western Wasteland people—works like *The Theory of Racial Superiority*, *The Western Wasteland Will Eventually Enter Central Province Theory*, *The Orthodox Dao Belongs in the Western Wasteland Theory*—he performed them one after another……

It seems in his mind, Western Wasteland people are simply superior to Central Province folks and more fit to represent orthodox Dao; once the Western Wasteland develops in the future, he will surely trounce Central Province's little brothers in every way!

As for that, you wanted to speak but held back……

Because you actually know the reason he says that: Jingxin Daoren, born in the Western Wasteland, had always stayed at home never venturing far, and this was his first time coming to Central Province, this outlandish region in the middle of the Wastelands, where he personally witnessed Central Province's excellent side!

While the worthless folks of both orthodox and demonic paths in the Western Wasteland were still overexploiting, Central Province had already achieved sustainable development. When the Western Wasteland's people were struggling on the death line, Central Province had already built a utopia, with per capita happiness index off the charts. In the Western Wasteland……

In short, the Western Wasteland is pathetic, Central Province is excellent…… and Jingxin Daoren, like ordinary people, can't bear to see his hometown inferior to elsewhere, so his enthusiasm along the way hasn't been particularly high.

Now that we've finally discovered the Western Wasteland's merits, of course we should hype them up!

Regarding that, you find it funny: what does the Western Wasteland's good or bad have to do with your personal situation? Where does the Western Wasteland's sense of honor for you manifest? It's truly inexplicable……

Either feeling inferior or superior, he can't stand seeing others' strengths nor hearing his own side's weaknesses; even though this "home" has no essential connection to him, he still feels a sense of pride in it.

Clearly a True Immortal, yet his mindset is childish and extreme—nothing in between!

What? I'm extreme too? Then it's fine……

Jingxin Daoren's shortcomings are obvious, but it's precisely because of this flaw that you two can get along; he is a bipolar type, you are an extremist—truly a den of snakes and rats, in collusion, reeking of mutual stench……

Time just flowed by like that; you sat on the teleportation array for nearly a year straight, and each time you saw the immortal-mortal system at the transfer points, it was identical, making you inevitably feel as if you hadn't moved at all.

But looking far eastward, that sky-supporting ancient divine mountain grew ever larger and towering, inspiring awe: no wonder it's the mountain formed from Pangu's spine, Mount Buzhou—no wonder the Heavenly Court placed the "Central Heaven Gate" there as the location of its capital!

Evidently, you are rapidly approaching it……

After you finish sitting through the last teleportation formation, the colossal shadow of the divine mountain truly appears before your eyes.

Big! Thick! Tall!

These three words—big, thick, tall—are what blurt out of your mind instinctively when you see Mount Buzhou with your own eyes; though coarse, they are apt and accurately describe its main features.

Your thoughts momentarily drift back to childhood, thousands of years ago, when your father often told you stories at night to lull you to sleep.

What your father told were those ancient myths, and the place name that appears most often among them is Mount Buzhou! Around this ancient divine mountain, heroes and champions came and went, leaving behind legends that remain familiar to this day.

The twelve ancestor witches of Pangu's bloodline were born here, giving rise to the Wu Clan; twelve tribes dwelled at the mountain's base, continuing unbroken until the Golden Heaven Emperor, leading a million-strong allied army of all clans and hundreds of Great Luo, stormed the Pangu Palace and relocated a million Wu tribespeople to Mount Shouyang…

One of the Six Saints, the human race's Holy Mother Nüwa and her brother the Great Sage Fuxi, also took form on Mount Buzhou; finally, the Holy Mother created humanity and attained sanctity on Mount Shouyang, becoming legend…

The first Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court, Di Jun, also placed the Central Heaven Gate here, established his capital in the Thirty-Three Heavens, and inaugurated the era of the Heavenly Court…

And the Golden Heaven Emperor, back when Mount Buzhou rose in turmoil, led a million heavenly troops to smash the witch‑demon forces, broke the Wu Clan's twelve tribes, fiercely assaulted the Zhou Tian Star Duel Formation, shot the treacherous Solar Star Lord, beheaded the quasi‑saint Emperor Jiang Ancestor Witch, and, with the humble body of a True Immortal, defied heaven to right the wobbling Heavenly Court!

He rescued the Heavenly Emperor Donghuang, accepted the Heavenly Emperor's abdication, and finally exhausted his efforts to seek welfare for all peoples, single‑handedly creating a prosperous, wealthy, and equal new era of the Heavenly Court!

Even though time has passed and circumstances changed, today the Heavenly Court has long dissolved into the dust of ages, yet their legends still circulate among every inhabitant of the primordial wilderness, gaining, through people's eager retelling, a transcendent "immortality" beyond the material…

Your thoughts race, and you are filled with myriad feelings.

Jingxin Daoren beside you also sighs with feeling, but his focus is noticeably askew… He suddenly points curiously at the several obvious gaps on Mount Buzhou.

"Fellow Daoist, look! Are those the tooth marks left by Di Jiang back then?"

You: …

Though a bit speechless, you still carefully examine those gaps and traces, matching them to the myths: back then Di Jiang hid in Mount Buzhou, attempting to fuse all things of heaven and earth and remake Pangu with his own body, but the Golden Heaven Emperor discovered the plot and thus waged war against Di Jiang.

The gaps gnawed by Di Jiang, the marks left by the Golden Heaven Emperor's Stabilizing Sea Pearl… these must be the battle scars left from that time!

"It's just that the world has changed while people remain; the once‑world‑shaking Golden Heaven Emperor has long fallen silent, no one knows whether he's dead or alive, and along with him the Heavenly Court has also been ruined under the stewardship of Xuandu…"

You feel myriad emotions; those persons have passed away, leaving only this ancient divine mountain still preserving their traces…

"So where exactly is the Central Heaven Gate that leads to the Thirty-Three Heavens?"

You curiously scan the mountain body, searching for the legendary Central Heaven Gate… Soon you find it, a gate of light hanging on the mountainside!

What lies beyond? Is it a world of survival of the fittest, or one of peace and harmony?

You hesitate a bit, wondering whether you should make a save point before entering…

"I'll go first!"

Seeing your hesitation, Jingxin Daoren, who had already prepared himself to die, immediately volunteered to scout ahead, flying straight toward the light gate; as his distance to Mount Buzhou narrowed, an inexpressive might gradually weighed down on him.

This is the primordial might of Pangu that has existed since the creation of heaven and earth!

And Jingxin Daoren suddenly cried out, falling from his cloud!

"This… even a True Immortal can't withstand it?"

You stared for a moment, then hurried to pull him up, lest he really hit the ground—though it probably wouldn't cause any harm, but it would be embarrassing…

"What's wrong with you?"

You eyed him suspiciously: Is Pangu's primordial might really that powerful?

"Fellow Daoist… I… I…"

Unexpectedly, Jingxin Daoren panicked: "I feel like I can't sense my mana!"

Your expression froze; you quickly examined his condition in detail, and were shocked to find: it's not just a feeling of lacking mana—he truly has none!

In your divine sense, this venerable True Immortal is now utterly an ordinary mortal, with no mana at all and a divine sense indistinguishable from that of a commoner.

Fortunately, his cultivation wasn't abolished, merely temporarily "erased"; you and he waited anxiously, and the vanished mana gradually reappeared in a strange way!

Jingxin Daoren had a false alarm…

However, suffering an initial setback at the outset, your originally excited mood suddenly cooled: this mission to explore the immortal realm is unlikely to be simple—at the very least, this Pangu primordial might needs to be studied first…

Moreover, Jingxin Daoren's experience makes you wonder: if this Pangu primordial might can effectively suppress even a True Immortal, then how does the rumor that "a True Immortal can enter the immortal realm" hold up?

A joke?

Or has the situation changed?

You need to study it carefully…

…

(End of chapter)