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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 279: Feral Causation
🕑 Added 2025-04-10 22:30:01 +0000 UTC“If only Senior Zhu Yi and Ma Kong were here,” Long Yi said, accompanied by a weary sigh.
“We don’t have to find the same group of feral,” Li Lang replied. “In fact, I prefer not to. While those guys who had captured Wei Ping are deviators, they seem to retain a good portion of their cognitive functions. I’d rather not start off experimenting with people like that. There’s a good chance they can still be saved.”
“Then you’re telling me we’ve been aimlessly searching around?”
“No, we’re checking all the most likely spots someone could hide in. It’s our best shot, considering none of us are particularly proficient in detection techniques, right?” Li Lang’s gaze veered to the Sword Saint’s disciples.
Only Jun Ziyan responded by shaking her head while the bald duo remained vigilant on the lookout for any threats. Their Skyrunner flew above the valley at relatively low elevation and speed, so their caution was warranted. They were in genuine Qi beast territory.
“It sh-should be fine,” Wei Ping commented. “If we’re looking f-for feral deviators that have completely lost their minds, they sh-shouldn’t be that hard to find. Maybe w-we should veer toward the righteous sects’ territory, though.”
The group agreed with his logic, and they did just that. Unfortunately, they had no luck even after the sun had set—or so they wanted to say. Just as night fell, they heard the cries of some Qi beast toward the north.
“I don’t think the nocturnal Qi beasts are out already,” Li Lang said. “Let’s go check it out.”
With a clear direction, the black Skyrunner brought the group to the source of the disturbance in no time. Despite it being a Mortal-grade product, it proved it was still viable. Li Lang could only thank himself for the wise purchase, as even his minders didn’t comment about it.
Arriving at the scene that looked the same as any other part of the valley, the group slowly descended into the woodland, searching for any traces.
They didn’t have to search far, as the carnage left behind had made quite an impact on the environment. Dozens of trees were toppled over, having been cleanly sliced through. At the epicenter of the damage, a scarab the size of a truck lay still. Blue blood pooled beneath it, still fresh, proof of how recently the event had taken place.
“Of course, we find clues as soon as night falls,” Long Yi commented. “Villains acting under the cover of darkness. How typical.”
“Hey, can’t complain about that,” Li Lang said with a grin before turning to three from Sword Saint Isle. “We’ll have to trouble you three for what comes next.”
“I’d like to remind you we’re tagging along to keep you safe, not so you can direct us to your enemies,” Jun Ziyan sternly stated.
“Apologies, but this is something we plan to do, even if we didn’t have you. Since you’re already here, though, it would be much safer if you took action instead.”
“I won’t say no this time, as the targets are mindless deviators. They’re a blight to this world that our master supports cleansing, but don’t get used to it.”
“Thank you.”
***
Once Li Lang obtained what he wanted, he retreated into the Crucible, leaving his companions to continue their search for both feral deviators and a suitable location to build their base of operations.
The Sword Saint disciples lived up to their reputation, showcasing how strong cultivators dedicated to the sword were. To them, the sword was an art, much like the five crafts. While some of their members did take up production crafts, the majority of them were devoted to their weapons.
It was how Li Lang ended up before a disheveled man who was missing both his hands.
“Umm, shouldn’t we give him a Recovery Pill?” Xiao Dong asked as he awkwardly stood guard by the door.
“It won’t restore his hands. He’ll need something more potent, like a Heaven’s Renewal Pill. Not something we know how to refine or have in stock,” Li Lang replied.
Xiao Dong appeared as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t seem to think of the words. He could only watch as his teacher pricked needles in the man’s body and collected various samples from him like he had done in the past.
Li Lang accomplished the task in no time and rushed out of the room that had been repurposed into a jail cell. Though he didn’t leave without warning his student.
“Keep your guard up. He’s still a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the middle stage.”
Before Xiao Dong could ask if his teacher was underestimating, believing him incapable of even watching over a restrained and injured prisoner, Li Lang’s figure had already disappeared around the corner.
Without delay, Li Lang entered into Ruby’s artifact space and began his research.
He had measured the time dilation and found that every two minutes in the artifact space was only one minute in the real world. With literally double the time, he allowed the auto-analyzer to do its work while he reviewed the demonic cultivation techniques he had gathered from the bazaar.
Hmm, no matter how many I read, the process seems to be consistent. The possession archetype of demonic techniques all suffer from the same symptoms, while the same can be said for the Qi pilfering archetype.
Li Lang brought up the old files he had saved onto his computer. It detailed his previous findings about how demonic techniques were divided. Possession-type techniques were those that absorbed energy from Qi beasts to progress, while Qi pilfering was stealing from other cultivators.
The only new finding he could add was what he had learned from Tai Xilin before he left Emberglow city. The Bloodwave Conclave disciple had been quite helpful, answering all his questions without holding back.
He taught the demonic cultivator the Tracing Origin Art and had him map out his inner meridians for him. Li Lang couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise when he saw the results. Tai Xilin’s meridians were completely different from any he had seen.
The meridians of orthodox cultivators, while varied from person to person, were all similar in structure. The channels across their body were cylindrical tubes, all in pristine condition. They were smooth and spotless, and every channel led somewhere.
In contrast, the meridians of demonic cultivators had some sections that were bumpy and full of small pockets. It was as if someone had taken a knife and scraped it around. It happened at random points without any pattern except for the spiritual roots. Every single spiritual root, which was the channel that connected to the outside world, had the same deformation.
As Li Lang had yet to find a way to directly manipulate the meridians themselves, he had no idea what could cause the damage or what effects it had on a cultivator. There was a chance it was what caused demonic practitioners to have various problems, or even deviation, but there was no way to confirm it.
Thankfully, he did get Tai Xilun to elaborate on the side effects of demonic cultivation.
His next step was to wait for the auto-analyzer to finish so he could get a good idea what physical issue was afflicting the feral deviator they had captured. Then he could see if these side effects were physical or spiritual. If it was the former, Li Lang would be having a much easier time. It was the subject he had specialized in. Even if he couldn’t find the root cause, he was confident to at least be able to address the symptoms.
Despite the extra time he had, time passed quickly when he was so absorbed in his work. Combined with the fact he was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator as well, the auto-analyzer finished within the hour.
Seeing the results, he couldn’t help but grin. The auto-analyzer successfully did a full body analysis based on a few samples of blood, flesh, and brain tissue.
God bless Recovery Pills for allowing me to take samples so easily!
Anyway, it’s just some damage to the brain, particularly in the amygdala and hippocampus. Hmm, nothing I can do to fix it permanently, but I can still work with this!
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Comments
Scrutinizer
Li Lang’s gaze veered to the /Saint/->[Sword] Saint’s disciples.
Scrutinizer
Amygdala and hippocampus? Yeah, that'll do it. A mind overcome with fear and anger from the amygdala damage and a beast-like self-narrative from the hippocampus damage will really do a number on ya.
