Exploring Immortality Cultivation

What kind of demeanor should a Seeking Dao Seeker have?

The immovable composure in the face of Mount Tai's collapse before one's eyes, the unwavering gaze as deer frolic to one's left—viewing the profound mysteries of the Great Dao with a heart free of desire is the common perception of those on the path of Seeking Dao. In fact, most high-order cultivators do indeed embody this image.

But at this moment, a group of peak Carefree Practitioners gathered in this small Illusion are discussing fervently, gesticulating, a hint of zeal faintly flickering in their expressions.

Even the aloof and independent Feng Luoyi and the indifferent and icy Ruoche are like this. This fervent emotion even extends to the leader seated in the principal position.

No, Xi Baiche is more exuberant than anyone present. The passions whittled away by the years seem to return to him all at once.

The cultivators seated here are Arithmeticians who under his leadership conquered the challenges of Metamathematics. The vast majority of them were either directly or indirectly guided onto the Immortal Path by him. To these cultivators, Xi Baiche is not only a leader but also an elder with the affection of a teacher and a father. It is precisely because of this bond that they can more acutely sense the mind of this great person.

Legend tells that 60,000 years ago, during an age when the various schools of thought coexisted and the Human Clan was gradually reaching its first zenith, there were Daoists who perished for the sake of the Dao, Buddhists who abandoned their mortal shell for Nirvana, and Confucians who sacrificed their lives to uphold righteousness... That was not the era when the Ancient Method was at its strongest, but it was the best era for the Ancient Method. The Ancient Method Practitioners of that time still harbored a hazy but pure faith in their hearts.

Xi Baiche was the same; for him, Mathematics was his faith. Questions of completeness, compatibility, and determinacy were to him sacred oracles.

Xi Baiche's fellow disciples discussed enthusiastically.

A similar scene occurred in many other places.

This is another Illusion. It's arranged like a clan ancestral hall, with many memorial tablets honored. Without exception, the people to whom these tablets are dedicated lived their lives without fame. The least among them were mere agents in the world of the Immortal Dao, earning a meager living by facilitating exchanges, while the most advanced among them were merchants who managed to do business with cultivators.

But these seemingly insignificant merchants shared one common family name.

Bo.

The Bo Family, a legendary clan boasting eleven Carefree Practitioners and hundreds of Grandmasters.

Bao Yage sat at the head of the table, quietly flipping through a newly penned paper. He was the one who had convened everyone here. As the highest-ranked cultivator in his family, he had the authority to do so.

Bao Yuehan's face was etched with anger, staring fixedly at Bao Yage. He said, "Big brother, why have you summoned us so suddenly? If there is no pressing matter, then you'd better give a good explanation."

Their brotherly relationship had been strained for hundreds of years, and Bao Yuehan still resented his older brother for having once tossed the role of Family Head to him, always speaking with a barb in his words.

Bao Yuehan moved his fingers through the air, typing a series of commands. Immediately afterwards, a paper appeared before each Bo Family cultivator.

Wang Qi's paper, "Mathematical Logic Under First-Order Predicate Calculus."

"Take a look," said the Carefree Practitioner. "This will be the future of the Wanfa Sect."

The group thumbed through the paper. Many of them frowned, because they did not understand very well and needed time to contemplate the significance behind the paper.

The first to respond was Bao Li'er. This Carefree Practitioner, who had proposed Bao's Law of Large Numbers, exclaimed in shock, "Uncle, what is this?"

"It's a paper that was just uploaded to the Immortal Alliance's paper library this morning," said Bao Yuehan. "Bai Ze from the Wanfa Sect just sent me a message asking me to pay attention to this one."

Another Carefree Practitioner, Bao Li'gu, mused, "Wang Qi... Our Wanfa Sect has no Grandmaster by that name, is he a True Inheritor from the past decade or so?"

"Do you remember Xiaoya conceding a match in this year's martial arts examination?" Bao Yage laughed heartily. "That girl didn't lose out in the end!"

Meanwhile, within the central region of the Wanfa Sect, Bujishan Mountain, the Bai Ze God Monarch had just finished reading the paper in his hand. Unlike the Bo Family group, he savored every word with care and took the contents to heart.

In recent years, the Bai Ze God Monarch had also been immersing himself in the cultivation of the mathematics system, even rising as a leading figure in this field. He closed the paper, his gaze passing over his disciples and landing on Su Junyu, who was solving problems not far away. He called Su Junyu over and smiled, "This friend of yours is truly extraordinary."

Su Junyu was still somewhat at a loss, but upon seeing the paper in the hands of the Divine Monarch, he immediately realized something and excitedly asked, "Junior Brother Wang's paper is amazing?"

"Not just amazing. He's surpassed quite a few old fellows, at least in this field," Bai Ze God Monarch indicated, preparing to read the paper again.

"I thought he was just an interesting playmate at first, who knew he'd come this far now?" Su Junyu curiously regarded the paper in the hands of Bai Ze God Monarch, his eyes clear with joy and envy.

Bai Ze God Monarch took another look at Su Junyu, "Don't you feel it's a pity?"

Su Junyu was taken aback, "What?"

"The Dao Artifact Award, happening next January. Your paper had a chance."

The Dao Artifact and Heavenly Mechanism are two major awards in the mathematical reasoning field of Shenzhou. The Dao Artifact Award is given every ten years to recognize young Arithmeticians below the Primordial Spirit Stage who have made outstanding contributions to the field of Mathematics.

Su Junyu was shocked, "So Junior Brother Wang has reached such a high level... I personally don't mind it much, and that paper of mine was just trivial."

"Perhaps," Bai Ze God Monarch was noncommittal about the junior's words, "You also need to carefully read your brother's paper. There's truth in there that directly points to the essence of Mathematics—before too long, most of the Wanfa Sect's cultivation methods will have to be revised for it at least once. By then, everyone will be able to benefit from it."

But the one who will benefit the most from it should be him, right?

A thought like this flickered through the mind of Bai Ze God Monarch as his gaze drifted towards the East.

In the distant East, thousands of miles off the shore of Shenzhou, on Fusang Island, there was a man singing wildly.

At the moment, he was standing on a bronze-colored pillar. This pillar was a hundred zhang tall, with a diameter of about a zhang at the top, and entirely composed of mechanisms. This man was disheveled, his hair a mess and his clothes misbuttoned. But the fervor of his singing while stood atop the pillar was unmatched.

Elder Ji, Turing, the other corner of the golden diagonal line.

Due to historical deviations, Godel's Otherworldly Analogues were absent from Shenzhou. Elder Ji had to reconstruct a system of mathematical logic in another manor esteemed by Earth People.

But his brilliance and talent far exceeded just that.

Wang Qi's paper brought revelations from another world to him.

Similar scenes were happening all over Shenzhou.

Sparked by the Carefree Practitioners of the Wanfa Sect and spreading through the Grandmasters of the sect, a great discourse began in the land of Shenzhou.

Wang Qi himself had not yet realized the magnitude of the tidal wave he had brought about.