Chapter 828: Life Vortex
In contrast to the logic of mortal cultivators' Spirit Hubs—their spiritual energy organs—True Immortals, through their exploration of self and the divine abilities they possessed, ultimately proposed a new concept called the Quantum Life Vortex.
The vessel for divine abilities was confirmed to be a perceptible, yet non-physical, structure within a True Immortal's body.
This structure was as natural a part of the immortal physique as any other, yet invisible to the naked eye, perceivable only through an extremely powerful divine sense.
Initially, some referred to it as a "Quantum Organ," as it seemed to be an organ exclusive to certain True Immortals. However, after a period of discussion and competition for Qi Luck, the Imperial Science Academy finally settled on "Quantum Life Vortex" as its official designation.
...
"Perhaps his divine ability is some kind of curse?" Ji'erke Fu suddenly thought, having reached this point in his reflections.
He recalled that two hundred years ago, shortly after returning from the Dao Chen Realm, he had become almost obsessed with finding a mysterious existence known as the Historical Text.
He tirelessly dispatched people, even sending avatars to attempt re-entry into the Dao Chen Realm, disregarding the advice of others. He almost completely ignored governmental affairs and even abandoned his cultivation, all his thoughts inexplicably fixed on the Historical Text.
He squandered over a hundred years, paying an immense price, just to intuitively find a corner of the Historical Text amidst the chaotic Dao Chen Realm.
It was only after losing the Historical Text fragments and being forced to recuperate on a flagship far from the central command that Ji'erke Fu slowly regained his senses.
Reviewing his actions back then, he felt as if he had been possessed, a shiver running down his spine every time he recalled it.
Thus, unlike the new generation of True Immortals, he firmly believed that Bai Mo, who had been silent for two hundred years, was not dead.
Among the veteran True Immortals who had once lived in his shadow, most believed Bai Mo had not truly perished, though some thought he had failed his Reincarnation Tribulation and remained forever in the Dao Chen Realm.
As for those who achieved immortality later, they lived in an environment almost completely "de-Bai Mo-ized," knowing very little about him, and generally paid no mind to the matter.
After centuries of deliberate forgetting, there was no longer any information about Bai Mo to be found among the populace. Even humans who had left with him back then, even those of the third tier with lifespans nearing three hundred years, had all reached the end of their lives and passed away.
Those who had not reached the fifth tier had all turned into dust in the annals of history.
After all, this year was the Dao Yuan 376th year, nearly four centuries since humanity was forced to relocate to the Moon.
...
Now, Ji'erke Fu not only harbored no hatred for Ke Mo for taking everything from him but was rather grateful that Ke Mo had rescued him from his obsession, taking on the curse of madly searching for the Historical Text in his stead.
Otherwise, he might have continued to be obsessed, continued to waste away, and become a mere tool in the search for the so-called "Historical Text."
"Divine ability, truly a power beyond imagination, capable of possessing one without them knowing..."
"Ji'erke Fu?"
"Nothing, I was just guessing what his divine ability might be."
"Two hundred years... even after two Reincarnation Tribulations, he should have woken up by now, surely he didn't actually..." Despite Ye Dexian's reluctance to believe that a generation's hero, who had cast a shadow over the world for centuries, would simply die without a trace.
But what if?
"He is definitely not dead."
"You have proof?!"
"He is most likely just trapped," Ji'erke Fu said, forcing out a difficult smile.
Though he had neglected his cultivation during these two hundred years due to his obsession, he had never missed a single lesson in research related to the Historical Text.
During these years of secluded self-reflection and memory organization, Ji'erke Fu gradually formed a conjecture by interpreting the information within the Historical Text fragments: Bai Mo was likely trapped within an unknown entity called the Time's Ring.
"Trapped? Could it be that the natives of the Dao Chen Realm turned the tables on him in the end?" Ye Dexian remembered clearly: two hundred years ago, when their avatars departed the Dao Chen Realm, Bai Mo was completely overwhelming the True Immortals on the other side, and his final attack, "Heaven and Earth Reopening," had plunged the world into utter darkness.
"I suspect he was attempting to seize the Heavenly Dao of that world, and that world's Heavenly Dao, in turn, sought to assimilate him to elevate its own status. Don't forget, he brought the mass-energy of an entire star to the Dao Chen Realm..."
"..."
If he hadn't heard these words directly from Ji'erke Fu's own mouth, he would have dismissed them as some boastful scholar's wild tale.
...
"Do you know about Black Magic?" After a long silence, Ye Dexian decided to change the subject.
"I do. That stuff the Magic Guild cooked up. A bunch of reckless fools, daring to use even his power."
Ji'erke Fu left the latter half of his thought unsaid: "Bai Mo's cursed divine ability is truly formidable. Even Ke Mo was completely helpless, becoming his puppet tool. Luckily, he was strong enough to defeat me and seize the Historical Text fragments..."
The concept of Black Magic was first proposed by Ke Mo, the Magic Guild's President, and Yan Nansheng, the Magic Guild's Vice President and another newly ascended True Immortal.
They discovered that there existed a presence in the void called "dark energy," and through certain special methods, this "dark energy" could be mobilized for one's own use.
This special method of mobilizing "dark energy" was called Black Magic.
The concept of Black Magic was not widely propagated; it was confined to a very small circle for discussion, because Ke Mo harbored greater ambitions.
He wanted to construct a colossal structure called the Magic Net, to allow countless people the opportunity to access the great Black Magic, and to give more mortals a chance to touch the extraordinary.
"His power?"
"Black Magic is like a solar panel, receiving the light and heat the Sun unconsciously emits and converting it into usable electricity."
"But what if... just what if the Sun actually has its own will?"
"The Sun? You mean him?" Ye Dexian reacted instantly.
No one who had witnessed the scene two hundred years ago, when Bai Mo devoured the Sun and then transformed into the great True Sun Star Lord, could ever forget it.
"This is just my conjecture," Ji'erke Fu said, wearing a knowing expression.
"What Black Magic extracts is merely the power he unconsciously radiates..."
Ye Dexian felt something was off. How had Ji'erke Fu now completely turned into a Bai Mo worshiper?
However, he hadn't experienced the devastating blow of the obsession-curse of searching for the Historical Text, nor the sudden enlightenment afterward. It was indeed somewhat difficult for him to understand the thoroughly terrified Ji'erke Fu.
A mere casual remark, and it was enough to bewitch a True Immortal, making them strive selflessly for a lifetime.
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