The Stars Beyond

Chapter 31: The Everlasting Species Program

There were countless legends surrounding the immortals, but upon investigation, it was revealed that they had merely achieved longevity, not true immortality.

In this era of technologically advanced civilization, multiple life science organizations and wealthy megacorporations relentlessly pursued the secret to immortality. They delved into the depths of the Old Earth, and on more than one occasion, they stumbled upon the characters mentioned in the “Biographies of Immortals”. The sight of their lifelike physical forms upon opening the ancient tombs was initially breathtaking, but it quickly turned into disappointment. These legendary figures had turned to ashes in a remarkably short period of time, confirming that they had never truly achieved immortality.

For instance, the grave mound of Master Chixuzi, a true immortal mentioned in the Biographies of Immortals, was discovered during the Old Era. However, his remains had been reduced to a pile of ashes. Even Master Guanling Yin, whose coffin had been unearthed and displayed as a cultural relic in a museum for many years, had met the same fate.

Wang Xuan was not bothered that the existence of the immortals had been debunked. He was already content to be able to learn about the lifespan limitations of practitioners today as this piece of information held great significance to him.

The woman lying in the bamboo boat, an elite among the practitioners, could live for at least seven hundred years, with a maximum lifespan of nine hundred and fifty years. This was undeniably a substantial amount of time.

Drawing upon well-known historical examples, such as Ancestor Peng who also lived to be eight hundred years old in the legends, Wang Xuan grew confident that if he were to achieve the same status one day, he would have ample time to contemplate what lay beyond the path of the Old Arts.

However, as he pondered further, he could not help but consider certain issues. If this woman still had plenty of life left, why was she in such a rush to ascend to immortality? Did something significant occur back then? Was it a personal matter or a consequence of the prevailing circumstances? These questions swirled in his mind.

“The reason why she failed to ascend to immortality, yet was able to preserve her physical form and retain her vitality, is closely tied to this thick golden bamboo,” Zhou Yu explained. The research team had named this bamboo the Divine Ascension Bamboo, as it contained a potent supernatural substance and abundant life force.

“Do you have any other scientific research plans or experiments in different directions?” Qian Lei inquired.

“Indeed, we have another program called the Everlasting Species,”Zhou Yu responded.

“Tell me more,” Qian Lei urged. He knew that the researchers at the New World likely had reservations, but he was willing to patiently uncover the details later.

“Despite the fading spiritual consciousness of the female practitioner, her physical vitality remains remarkably strong. It’s as if she has been dormant all this time. Her physiological age is that of a young woman, primed for marriage and pregnancy.”

Upon hearing this, even the two composed military experts were astonished. Their jaws dropped, thinking that the researchers from the New World had gone too far with their ambitions.

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Qian Lei was equally dumbfounded. He instinctively adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, as if afraid they might fall off. “Are you saying that you’re planning to make this female practitioner give birth to a child after she’s been dead for three thousand years?!”.

“That’s correct. She is the closest being to immortal that we have discovered, someone who has surpassed the limits of human lifespan. The genetic material she left behind for her future offspring is absolutely extraordinary and worth exploring through experiments,” Zhou Yu exclaimed, her excitement even greater than when she was talking about dissecting the female practitioner.

Qing Mu, the head of one of the Adventurer’s Guild’s departments, usually maintained a calm and collected demeanor. However, he was taken aback by this revelation. He suddenly realized that when a well-mannered scientific researcher became “enthusiastic”, they could be even more terrifying than him.

Wang Xuan, on the other hand, was mind blown. He felt a deep sense of sympathy for the female practitioner, who, even after three thousand years of death, was unable to rest in peace and was now forced to bear a child. He reminded himself that if he failed to complete the path of Old Arts, he must burn himself to ashes on the last day of his existence.

With this new resolve in mind, he could not help but wonder if the other elite practitioners had already foreseen this day when they chose to reduce themselves to ashes during the ascension.

Qian Lei's expression turned serious as he declared, “This experiment mustn’t be conducted at this stage.”

Zhou Yu, despite being one of the project leaders with decision making power, acknowledged the statement without any intention of arguing. She simply nodded and said, “We have no immediate plans to proceed either. Although the mother’s body is strong enough, we have yet to find a suitable candidate as the father. Let’s wait for another ten years. If the right person emerges in the field of New Arts, then we can consider it. As for those who practiced Old Arts, it's best we don’t consider them. This path is less viable now and individuals like those practitioners from the Early Qin dynasty can no longer exist in today's era.”

Wang Xuan could not help but sigh inwardly, relieved that the female practitioner had just narrowly escaped a humiliating fate. He quickly shook his head again, reminding himself that honor and disgrace were ultimately meaningless to someone who was already dead.

Qian Lei had a lengthy discussion with Zhou Yu and the other leads from the New World. Before he departed, he requested to take a part of the Divine Ascension Bamboo with him for further research.

Zhou Yu and the others seemed to have anticipated this request and generously gave him the bamboo they had cut off earlier.

Qing Mu, unable to contain his excitement, wanted to ask for a piece of the golden bamboo on behalf of the Adventurer’s Guild. Before he could make the request, the researchers from the New World took the initiative to address the matter.

“We can no longer provide additional samples of the Divine Ascension Bamboo from the bamboo boat due to concerns about the potential negative impact on the boat’s activity and, more importantly, the stability of the female practitioner’s body. In such a scenario, all our experiments would go awry and become impossible to carry out.”

Qing Mu was left speechless. The other party had effectively refused his potential request, and insisting on it would only disrupt the experiments and hinder the overall progress of this research facility.

Zhou Yu expressed her apologies and presented a golden leaf, stating that it was all they could offer.

Comparing the bamboo branch in Qian Lei’s hand to the leaf in his own left a bad taste in Qing Mu’s mouth. There was no denying the discrepancy. “Forget it,” he consoled himself.

Wang Xuan then spoke up, “Excuse me, may I take a few stones from this cavern?”

The people present were taken aback, and those from the New World wore puzzled expressions.

Wang Xuan quickly clarified, “As a practitioner of the Old Arts, I have a deep reverence for the early practitioners. Ascension seems almost mythical to me, and having the opportunity to personally witness these relics brings me immense satisfaction. Nevertheless, I would appreciate the chance to take a few pieces of fragmented stones from this site as a memento. They will serve as a constant reminder and source of motivation, affirming that the path of the Old Arts is indeed still viable and that achieving the ascension brings me closer to immortality!”

Qing Mu was surprised by Wang Xuan’s request. He knew Wang Xuan well and was aware that he was not particularly reverent towards the immortals. He could not help but wonder if Wang Xuan had undergone a change of heart today.

The middle-aged man from the military, a fellow practitioner of Old Arts, smiled. “That’s impressive, young man. You’re a martial arts enthusiast, just like me when I was young. Let’s keep in touch in the future. Although I’m transitioning to the New Arts, I haven’t completely abandoned the Old Arts. If you ever have any questions or need guidance, feel free to reach out. We can have a good chat.”

Wang Xuan’s face immediately lit up with gratitude, and he eagerly exchanged contact information with the middle-aged man. Of course, he made sure to leave behind the same phone number that was specifically connected to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Seeing Wang Xuan’s sincerity and the support from the military, the project leader and the other researchers from the New World agreed to Wang Xuan’s request. In truth, they had already thoroughly searched the area, and the female practitioner had indeed left behind some artifacts in the past. However, most of them were burned to ashes, and there was nothing else of value.

Furthermore, they had used the most advanced instruments to conduct multiple scans, and there was no evidence of any hidden layers or special substances or energy in the cavern.

Wang Xuan casually extracted a few stones from the cracked cavern wall with his bare hands. The sheer strength of his grip left the people from the New World in awe.

Despite the cavern being cleaned before, there were still scorched black traces between the cracks. It did not appear to be caused by the explosion during the ascension, but rather a lightning strike.

Wang Xuan calmly collected a total of six stones. He silently stepped back, disguising the excitement he felt inside.

Qing Mu sighed and confessed, “I, too, practiced the Old Art. Although I have a deep reverence for the early practitioners, I have also unfortunately diverted to the path of the New Arts due to my lack of strength. I shall take two stones for myself as a memento too.”

The people of Nova had no objections. After all, they had already given him a leaf; it would not be nice to deny him a few stones.

“Alas, our old path has come to an end. From now on, we can only place our hopes on the New Arts.” The middle-aged man from the military stepped forward with a sad face and also grabbed two stones for himself.

“How sad!” Jin Chuan sighed and silently joined the others, tucking two fist-sized stones into his arms.

Wang Xuan was dumbfounded. He could not believe that these three individuals, who actually knew nothing, were following his lead. He was not sure whether they were worried about losing out on something or they were simply mimicking him.

The people from the New World laughed at their pathetic attempts in taking advantage of the situation. The cavern had been thoroughly searched multiple times. If there was anything valuable, it would have been discovered long ago.

“You guys!” Qian Lei sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Qing Mu, Jin Chuan, and the middle-aged man from the military immediately felt slightly embarrassed. After all, they were civilized people.

Soon, all of them took the elevator back to the surface with Qian Lei leading the way and were transported out of the ravine by a small starship.

“Little brother, I noticed you collected quite a few stones. If my comrades were to ask me for some, I only have two on me, which won't be enough to share. Could you spare another one or two?” the middle-aged man from the military asked Wang Xuan earnestly.

Wang Xuan sighed. This man had been so polite earlier, talking about how he was also a true martial arts enthusiast when he was young. In the end, it seemed like he had an ulterior motive for saying all that.

Qian Lei adjusted his glasses and added, “Little brother, could you also give me a piece? After all, it’s a rock from the explosion of an ascension. I need to bring it back to have it analyzed by a specialist.”

Wang Xuan was speechless. These people really put up a great act back there! However, he did not really mind sharing his stones. He had anticipated this possibility and had collected a few extra stones. Besides, there were only two pieces that he cared about the most.

Without saying a word, he silently threw a piece to the middle-aged man and Qian Lei. Noticing the awkward look on Qing Mu’s face, he took the initiative to toss him a piece as well.

Jin Chuan immediately spoke up, “Brother, since we belong to the same Adventurer’s Guild...”

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Xuan cut him off and firmly refused. “No!” He could not resist adding, “That’s because you intercepted me last time!”

Jin Chuan was taken aback and wanted to correct Wang Xuan that it was not an interception, but he decided against it. He turned around, not wanting to provoke Wang Xuan any further.

Wang Xuan looked at the group of middle-aged men and said, “Did you all misunderstand something? I genuinely want to bring these stones back to display and remind myself that Old Arts can be incredibly powerful. What were you all thinking?!”

“Haha, life experience taught us otherwise!” The middle-aged man from the military replied honestly this time.

“All right, let’s go. It’s time to go home!” Qing Mu patted Wang Xuan on the shoulder.

Shortly after, they boarded their starship and returned safely. Although the mission had been thrilling, Wang Xuan had already decided to pull out from the guild. He did not want to leave his fate in someone else’s hands.

Instead of sadness, he was filled with excitement. He was itching to return to his residence with these stones. The fact that he could barely contain his excitement only showed how valuable these rocks were.

Once Wang Xuan arrived back in the city, he wasted no time and headed straight to his residence. He could not bear to wait a moment longer!