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.

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. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞w𝒏.𝒸𝑜𝔪 website to read fastest update

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.”

“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!

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