Applied Immortality

“Cultivation deviation is a disaster, but for the Evolution Chart, disaster brings with it the chance of advancement. It’s indeed a great deal of luck!” Ai Dinglan pointed at Wang Qi with confidence.

“This is the wild nature of the Evolution Chart we all cultivate.”

“Nya?” Mao Zimiao glanced at Wang Qi, huddled into a ball and eyes about to roll back into their sockets, and she could hardly accept it. “But Little Qi looks anything but fine…”

“It’s normal, totally normal!”

[Screw your normal!]

Wang Qi managed to hear through the pain what was wrong with him.

To begin with, the Evolution Chart was incomplete, representing an unfinished mental art. On top of that, there were no offensive and defensive arts or neat tricks included.

The sole reason it was hailed as the best modern art was due to its evolution.

Any cultivator could deduce this cultivation method through their own efforts, the result varying wildly from one person to another.

And what drove or, better yet, triggered the evolution?

Change.

The offspring copies the parent’s genetic information with some degree of variation. This variation was change.

Applying radiation to the process amplified the change. The procedure would have a high chance of resulting in a malformed offspring, as well as a certain, yet slim, chance of producing a better specimen than their parents.

Wang Qi found himself in the same situation. The Evolution Chart spiritual power within him was changing. If he wanted it to advance, he had to nudge it in the right direction!

“You want me… to meditate… like this?” Wang Qi squeezed out with extreme difficulty.

“Yep!” Ai Dinglan rested her chin in her hands. “Your Evolution Chart spiritual power is devolving as it is until you lose control of the mental art. Your cultivation will collapse and take your life with it.”

“Nya!” Mao Zimiao meowed in panic. “Senior Sister Ai, what do we do?!”

Ai Dinglan clapped. “Little Miao, you still don’t get it? Go on, beg, for I have just the thing!”

Ai Dinglan ignored Wang Qi’s presence and opened her chest, showing the soft and white expanse of skin. She put her hand inside and roamed about.

[This chick’s immoral AND loony, isn’t she?]

Ai Dinglan pulled out a pod from her clothes, with a vine at the end still stuck in her chest. She presented it to the two. “Ta-da! The ultimate gene treasure, Postcelestial Spirit Root! Am I amazing or what? The perfect remedy to all your problems!”

Mao Zimiao cocked her head. “It’s a… pea, nya? Isn’t that just a vegetable? It rarely awakens and of no medicinal value…”

[I’m more concerned with where it’s rooted and how you twist it around you… This high-level play is beyond what my cultured mind can comprehend…]

Wang Qi dissed.

“Beautiful! You’ve memorized the Illustrated Guide to Plants!” Ai Dinglan rubbed her head and encouraged, “Other than demons, there is also one special specimen.”

“This?”

“Gene Ancestor Mendel’s greatest creation!” Ai Dinglan explained. “Before any concept of genes existed in the Heavenly Spirit Range, Ancestor Mendel grew a garden in the range, planting 37 peas. He used these peas and their offspring to unravel the riddle of bloodlines and comprehend the path of lineage, becoming Unfettered with it. It was there, in that garden, that he achieved his path, instilling into those 37 peas the rare aura of heaven and earth as he triggered his advancement. From that moment on, the unique Postcelestial Spirit Roots were born!”

Wang Qi gasped in shock. He couldn’t believe that the S toy the girl took out had such a shocking background.

Mao Zimiao was stunned. “Is this one of those 37, nya?”

“If only,” Ai Dinglan said with some regret in her voice. “After becoming a gene true disciple, I was bestowed a bean offspring and planted it. While this pea isn’t as amazing as the miraculous 37, it’s still a rare treasure of the evolution path and path of life. A panacea!”

Ai Dinglan opened the pod and took out a pea. “Say ah. Here comes Senior Sister’s beanie.”

[This girl’s cultured for sure!]

“Ah.” Wang Qi opened up and felt a sweet bead fall in his mouth, followed by a hint of pea smell.

“Don’t chew, swallow.” Ai Dinglan instructed.

Wang Qi gulped hard. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll… urk—”

Wang Qi pucked a few times the second the pea entered his throat, and he actually felt the nausea receding a little.

Ai Dinglan stated, “Senior Sister’s beanie will help you expel Evolution Chart spiritual power for a while, preventing your spiritual power from degenerating further. Once your stomach digests its outer layer and absorbs it, the pure spiritual energy and Ancestor Mendel’s minute Dao enlightenment will guide the Evolution Chart’s cultivation process. You must meditate to take everything in. The process begins in an hour, but you can trigger it now if you’re feeling confident.”

Wang Qi eased a breath. “No need. I need to rest a bit. There’s also my shoulder that is killing me.”

Ai Dinglan caressed Wang Qi’s wound. A furious itchiness assaulted his mind, and it healed instantly.

Ai Dinglan asked, “Junior Brother, have you set your mind on a path yet? I mean, with so many mental arts, which is the major, the minors, and the extras?”

Wang Qi said, “I’m already set on one.”

“Oh, good for you.” Ai Dinglan nodded. “Then you can use Mendel’s bean to help you nudge the Evolution Chart towards your ideal path.”

Wang Qi nodded.

“Great!” Ai Dinglan clapped. “Now on to business. How should that guy be punished?”

Wang Qi and Mao Zimiao turned to Yang Jun, who was constrained. The image he painted was beyond what Western magical or sci-fi games like Spore or Fallout could come up with. This twisted, gray lifeform was unrecognizable from a human.

The bound Yang Jun flayed still while still groaning weird sounds. To Wang Qi’s ears, it sounded like “Destroy the demons… destroy…”

Wang Qi was devoid of sympathy. He sighed. “It’s not his entire fault for being possessed. We don’t have to kill him right away and can look for a Senior Brother good with Celestial Entropy that might save him.”

Ai Dinglan was pensive. She twirled her hand and vines shot to turn Yang Jun into a ball of yarn.

Wang Qi kept looking from the ball to Mao Zimiao. The cargirl complained, “Don’t treat me like a cat, nya!”

“Pff!” Wang Qi burst into a weird laughter and walked to the ball of yarn to give it a pat. “This is what you get for challenging a bookworm, underachiever.”

Wang Qi used Celestial Entropy to check Yang Jun’s situation.

The ball vanished.