"Training" in the eyes of cultivators like Zhen Chan and other Ancient Method Practitioners, was always associated with life-and-death crises. It was said that great terror lay between life and death, and one could never understand the heart of diligence and bravery, or the meaning of cultivation, without experiencing this step.

In short—if you don't hang your head on your belt, how can you understand the preciousness of life?

This largely stemmed from the chaos in the Immortal Dao environment during the Ancient Method Era, where phenomena like "this treasure is destined for me" and "spiritual objects of Heaven and Earth belong to those with virtue" were rampant.

In this era, however, the training content for Modern Cultivators was somewhat different. Red Dust Heart Refining essentially involved experiencing the ways of the world to reflect on one's inner self, to see into one's nature, to transform one's mindset, and to bring one's consciousness closer to that of the longevity, preventing the erasing of one's true nature over millennia.

Longevity is not the Longevity Tribulation.

Among these trainings, the one where Guardian Envoys "fight Sea Demons under the protection of Primordial Spirit Cultivators" was already one of the most dangerous types—although its death rate was lower than any army on Earth. Security Guardians hardly ever died; the incident Wang Qi experienced seven years ago was already a rare major liability accident. There were even some cultivators who chose to completely conceal their mana and experience the life of a mortal, reveling in the mortal world. Others chose to enter solitary observation stations to confront loneliness.

Different personalities would choose different experiences.

As for "dying oneself then having others die to understand the preciousness of life," that belonged to the realm of the unreasonable.

In the trainings of the Immortal Alliance, very few included the possibility of life-threatening dangers. This was one of the core concepts of the Immortal Alliance—life is most important. Only the living can create value, and only the living can continue to advance; dead cultivators are meaningless. Therefore, both Lu Qianqian's trio and Ai Changyuan's cousin thought that these two would not take risks with their lives.

Of course, neither Wang Qi nor Ai Changyuan actually intended to risk their lives to complete the task. Ai Changyuan was merely planning to help Wang Qi enter a dangerous area, while Wang Qi was going to conduct a search under the broken supervision of Feng Luoyi. There was to be no danger to their lives. This was also why they didn't adamantly oppose the company of unrelated personnel.

What really troubled them was how to explain why Wang Qi was going alone into the territory of Demon Beasts.

On the third day of the voyage, Wang Qi and his companions arrived at a small island called Distant God Island. It was a coral island, not large, but situated right next to the Dragon Abyss Cold Current. The current brought a vast amount of Spiritual Power and also carried over tree seeds from the Far Sea islands. Birds, in turn, brought herbs from the continent. The Spiritual Energy-rich seawater ensured the coexistence of sub-tropical evergreen broadleaf trees and deciduous shrubs, creating an unusual sight of mixed vegetation styles on the island.

"Changyuan, Changyuan! Look, there are coconuts here too!" Qianqian seemed to have completely sunk into the state of "traveling with her boyfriend."

Over the past few days, neither Wang Qi nor Ai Changyuan had shown any intention to search for Sea Demons. Even the occasional Sea Demons they encountered were dealt with by Wu Shiqin—who had indeed come along simply because she was itching for a fight. Everyone felt that perhaps the purpose of their journey was just to find a few Transformation Demon Clan members to spar with overseas.

Ai Changyuan nodded in response and casually used his power to pluck a few coconuts from mid-air to share with everyone. His cousin Ai Changguang appeared to be a man in his thirties, mature and gentle, with a slight beard on his cheeks. However, Ai Changyuan knew that such a style of beard was fashionable a hundred years ago. No one would decide to take the path of Low Grade Primordial Spirit and waste one or two hundred years beyond Golden Core Perfection.

He asked Ai Changyuan, "Little brother, if we go further in, there will really be a problem. Have you got the latest Demon Beast distribution map for this trip? Do you have a target?"

Ai Changyuan answered with a few words, then entered the cabin within the ship.

Wang Qi was in the lowest deck of the ship, keeping to himself away from outsiders. Since everyone assumed that he had specially sought an enemy slightly above his own level to hone himself, they construed his behavior as "adjusting his state."

Ai Changyuan, on the other hand, knew that Wang Qi was simply focusing on navigating the ship.

Any Demon Clan member not yet capable of Transformation could not resist a True Dragon, and vast Demon Clan communities might be used by the Dragon Clan involved in the turmoil of the West Sea— either to be devoured, to act as cover, or to assault the blockade lines. Thus, the West Sea Dragon Clan had taken drastic measures, driving all Demon Clan members at Core Formation Stage and above from the vicinity of the Holy Dragon Abyss to the south or north. The Demon Clan members who had come to participate in the Dragon Clan coup were also allowed to hunt at will. Now, the whole region was in a state of chaos, undergoing an unprecedented migration.

On the other hand, the Immortal Alliance's artificial celestial body—satellite—had two methods of detection: collecting electromagnetic signals across various frequencies including visible light, and projecting special Spiritual Power, achieving an effect similar to Spiritual Sense.

The vast oceans hindered prying. With the accuracy of the artificial celestial bodies, Wang Qi could only precisely locate five or more Transformation Demon Beasts, Divine Power Demon Beasts, large groups of Demon Beasts, or gigantic creatures like the Sea God Whale.

Clearly, this was insufficient.

Although the speed of this Spirit Boat was naturally slower than Wang Qi's maximum speed using Escape Light, it was only slightly slower, and it had the advantages of endurance and stability. It also provided Wang Qi with a relatively safe environment where he could rest well, without having to be constantly on edge.

What he had to do was to find a relatively safe route through an area teeming with Demon Beasts. As the entire West Sea was now in turmoil, the route needed to be constantly adjusted.

"Old Wang, how's it going?"

Wang Qi opened his eyes and said, "Change direction within ten minutes, head west by ten degrees."

"We haven't even entered the danger zone yet, and you're this serious."

Wang Qi rubbed his temples and sighed, "This is the periphery, which is actually easier to detect. Now the demon beasts at the Core Formation Stage have been driven to the periphery, and their wisdom is not low."

Ai Changyuan curiously asked, "What's the situation now?"

"I don't know, the West Sea Dragon Clan has been acting strangely lately. In the eighty thousand years of history, the Human Clan has witnessed the West Sea Dragon King's succession over twenty times, each time very peacefully with no struggle for power. Besides, it's pretty much clear to us now that 'West Sea Dragon King' is just a term used by the Human Clan, 'Great Saint Guard King' is just a fancier name for 'Forbidden Land Guard Captain' or 'Commander of Imperial Army'; that dragon has no need to fall out with one of its own kind."

"Theoretically, Banished Immortals are not necessarily from the Human Clan; the Dragon Clan is also possible," Ai Changyuan optimistically estimated. "Maybe the Dragon Clan shares our stance on this matter."

"I think that's a bit unlikely. If the Dragon Clan were also fighting against the Banished Immortals, they should be aware that this planet is not yet sufficient to contend with Immortal Heaven; at this time, shouldn't they be seeking out all possible cooperators?" Wang Qi said, "The Immortal Alliance stirred up the spirit of hunting down Banished Immortals a few hundred years ago, with the policy of better killing wrong than letting go. It has only calmed down afterward. These are all public, but the Dragon Clan apparently has no signs of contacting the Immortal Alliance."

"Perhaps the Longevity Species' perception of time is different from ours?" Ai Changyuan speculated, "Perhaps in the eyes of such ancient races, the Immortal Alliance is just something established yesterday, and the Human Clan was just a low-grade primate with a low demonization rate and brutal habits ten years ago."

While talking, Qian quickly took out the Jade Plate and adjusted the course.

Wang Qi suddenly said, "Head east by ten degrees."

Ai Changyuan didn't hesitate to readjust the course. Muffled complaints could be faintly heard from the deck. Ai Changyuan shook his head and continued the previous topic, "However, you're quite lucky not to have been born in that era of 'better killing wrong than letting go'. How's your soul? Have you had it rechecked later?"

"You make it sound like I have some strange illness; it's just an innate special constitution, like the Fire Element Body or Innate Spiritual Eyes," Wang Qi said without even lifting his eyelids.

In this universe, the special phenomena brought by Spiritual Energy are not limited to physics or chemistry; biology as well. Even creatures with identical DNA can develop completely different traits when influenced by different types of Spiritual Energy. The "Creation's Favored" special constitutions were not uncommon in the Ancient Method Era and there were many individual talents, and undoubtedly, they were from the Human Clan by bloodline.

This was a common phenomenon in Shenzhou, and Ai Changyuan noddingly understood.

This world was ridiculing science and the laws in every field. Spiritual Energy made every phenomenon seem almost impossible to summarize. Perhaps a hundred times or even a thousand times the resources and a much longer research cycle are needed to reach results akin to those found on Earth.

Wang Qi even felt that it was a miracle how the Immortal Alliance could have reached today's heights.

"So, what's your talent? In what ways are you different from ordinary people?" Ai Changyuan asked curiously, "It can't just be an exceptional aptitude for researching Modern Cultivation, can it?"

Wang Qi shook his head, "I really don't know."

According to Wang Qi's speculation, he might not be a special mutation, but an alternative form of demonization. He remembered having adult consciousness activity when he was an infant, and the immature brain of an infant is clearly unable to support adult thinking. If this were Earth, "consciousness transmigration" might have been awkward because it implies cognitive degeneration and memory loss. But Shenzhou People have another completely idle thinking organ besides the brain. The soul carried his thoughts. Because his soul was active from an early age, the Spiritual Energy around him was slightly higher than that of normal infants. At the same time, as an infant, he established many brain circuits that normal babies had no opportunity to build.

Whether it was his body or brain, he far exceeded his previous life and normal Shenzhou People.

And this coincided with the Demon Clan's method of "thinking to forge the soul." He had experienced an incomplete demonization as a child, so his soul seemed a bit different from the norm.

"How much longer until we enter the blockade line?"

"Not long, about eight days... Head east by seven degrees."

"Oh." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)