Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

One after another, towering golden pedestals were thrown from the celestial ship and embedded deep into the void. The energy pathways formed by billions of array patterns instantly linked them together, outlining the prototype of a magnificent starport spanning millions of miles.

Countless array masters and weapon refiners dressed in standard Taoist robes moved among them, chanting incantations and forming hand seals. Streams of spiritual light entered the base, drawing upon the remaining stellar power of this world and infusing it with vitality.

Tianmen Star Port is the name given by the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty to this newly conquered world gateway. It serves as both a defensive line and a springboard for advancing into other realms.

Inside the bridge of the Rift, all was quiet.

Li Mu stood with his hands behind his back in front of the enormous Xuan Guang Mirror, which reflected the grand scene of the entire battlefield moving from chaos to order.

Li Mu's gaze did not linger on the busy fleet and cultivators, but instead fell upon something floating in his palm.

It was a crystal core the size of a human head, the core remnant of the Primordial Intelligence Core shattered by Xiao Jingtian with his supreme power. At this moment, it had lost all its scarlet, violent light, leaving only a pure crystal structure. The once all-encompassing starry sea inside had also dimmed, with only a few faint streams of data remaining, like a candle flickering in the wind, barely clinging to life.

Xiao Jingtian, dressed in military uniform and carrying an aura of lingering menace, strode into the bridge, followed by Vice Commander Lie Feng, whose face was filled with reverence.

"Greetings, Master!" The two knelt on one knee, their voices booming like bells.

"Get up." Li Mu's voice was calm and even, without even turning around. His fingertips lightly traced the surface of the crystal core, feeling its cold and precise touch: "General Xiao, one shot pierced the wall, one shot breached the city. This time, the greatest credit should be attributed to you."

Xiao Jingtian showed no arrogance and said in a deep voice, "If it weren't for Master using supreme Dao techniques to sever its key points and bring the Golden Puppet Army to a standstill, even with my extraordinary abilities, I would never have been able to succeed so easily. This achievement is entirely due to Master's timely assistance!"

Xiao Jingtian's words were true. He knew that it was Li Mu who made the move. That momentary pause was the turning point of the entire battle. Otherwise, he and his three hundred guards would have been wiped out by the endless Logic Guardians and Shadow Golden Puppets.

Li Mu smiled noncommittally and finally turned around. The chaotic vortex in his eyes slowly disappeared, as if it could devour all light.

Meeting Li Mu's gaze, Xiao Jingtian, a peerless warrior who had half-stepped into the "Planting Dao" realm, felt a tremor originating from the depths of his soul.

"Merit is merit, and fault is fault; the Immortal Dynasty is clear about rewards and punishments." Li Mu held up the crystal core and handed it to Xiao Jingtian. "Come and see, what is so mysterious about this thing?"

Xiao Jingtian stared intently and saw that the surface of the crystal core was covered with hundreds of millions of strange patterns that were countless times finer than a hair. The patterns were not any of the Immortal Dynasty's array pattern system. There were no nodes that could attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nor any traces of connecting the laws. Yet they intertwined with each other, forming a cold, rigorous, and absolutely rational logical closed loop.

"This... is the 'Puppet Mark' of the Golden Puppet Civilization?" Xiao Jingtian frowned and said, "I have killed countless Golden Puppets, but I have never observed its core so closely. These marks seem... not to be carriers of energy, but more like a kind of 'definition'."

“Well said.” Li Mu’s eyes showed a hint of approval. “It is ‘definition’ rather than ‘induction’. Ordinary array formations and puppet formations ‘induction’ the power of heaven and earth for one’s own use, which is borrowing the law from heaven. But these puppet patterns ‘define’ how matter and energy should operate, which is enacting laws from things. One borrows and the other establishes. The difference in their level is not discussed for the time being, but their thinking is already a completely different path.”

A wisp of chaotic light flowed from Li Mu's fingertip and gently touched the puppet pattern.

"Buzz!"

The crystal core trembled violently, and the remaining data stream seemed to have encountered its natural enemy, retreating frantically. Even the crystal itself groaned under the strain.

Wherever the chaotic light flowed, the originally meticulously crafted puppet pattern structure began to twist and dissolve, as if absolute order, in the face of absolute chaos, had its very foundation shaken.

“They…are afraid.” Lie Feng, watching from the side, was terrified and exclaimed in a trembling voice.

“Indeed, it is fear.” Li Mu withdrew his finger, his eyes deep: “The moment I erased the logical anchor point of this thing’s core, it transmitted some information about my power of ‘chaos’ back to their headquarters. It could not understand it, could not analyze it, and could only mark it as the highest threat— ‘extinction’. And this thing that cannot be contained by logic is the greatest fear for a purely logical civilization.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingtian's heart skipped a beat: "Does Master mean that the Golden Puppet Civilization... is already aware of your existence and will take action against your power?"

"Do you think a civilization capable of crossing world barriers and launching an extinction-level war would collapse completely like these outposts, with just one intelligence core destroyed?" Li Mu smiled faintly and indicated, "No, the real war may have only just begun."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the joy of victory that had just begun to ignite in the hearts of the Immortal Dynasty's armies.

Yes, what they captured was merely a frontline fortress of the Golden Puppet Civilization. What, then, does that colossal being hidden deep within the endless void truly resemble?

……

Beyond the void, so distant it cannot be measured by distance, lies a realm shrouded in absolute darkness and deathly silence.

There are no stars, no light, and not even the concept of the passage of time. Only a metallic sphere, a million times larger than any ordinary world, floats silently.

Its surface is composed of countless hexagonal metal blocks, each engraved with super-manifestations billions of times more complex than the Primordial Intelligence Core. Countless dark blue rays of light flow within the grooves of the manifestations, like the thoughts that flicker when a god is in contemplation.

This is the supreme core of the Golden Puppet civilization, the source of all Golden Puppet life—the [Golden Puppet Ancestral Core].

Just as the Primordial Intelligence Core completely collapsed, a hexagonal section on the surface of this enormous sphere, which had been dormant for countless epochs, suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light.

[Alert: Outpost Intelligence Core 'Primordial', serial number G-77, has lost contact.]

[Lifeline: Zero.]

[Logical anchor point: collapse.]

[Final data packet received... Parsing to begin.]

A cold, emotionless thought echoed throughout the entire source core.

The next moment, in the central region of the source core, in a data ocean composed of pure light, a scene was reconstructed.

It was a stream of chaotic colored light that pierced through heaven and earth, ignoring space and distorting the laws, directly striking the logical core of the Primordial Intelligence Core in an incomprehensible way.

[Analysis begins...]

[Energy composition analysis...failed.]

[Analysis of Law Attributes...failed.]

[Physics model building...failed.]

【…】

[WARNING! WARNING! Under attack of unknown 'concept' level!]

This 'concept' cannot be defined, cannot be logically formulated, and cannot be quantified!

[There is a fundamental conflict with 'order'!]

[Threat level assessment...exceeds 'extinction', defined as... 'chaos'!]

A series of failures and warnings would have plunged any other living being into panic and collapse. But the Golden Ancestral Core did not; its absolute rationality allowed it to make the most correct judgment in the shortest amount of time.

[Parsing failed, switching to reverse simulation.]

[Using the final data packet as a 'seed,' the concept of 'chaos' is simulated.] [The first to third thousandth computational units are mobilized to perform endless deductions.]

[Goal: To understand 'chaos,' master 'chaos,' and ultimately... bring 'order' to it!]

The command was issued, and within the massive source core, three thousand computational units, comparable to primordial intelligence cores, were simultaneously activated. The image of that chaotic light stream was copied billions of times and deployed into the endless virtual battlefield.

Each simulation was destroyed by the power of chaos.

Reconstructing it time and time again, analyzing every detail of its collapse.

The Golden Puppet Civilization, a terrifying entity founded on logic and order, did not choose to flee after encountering a natural enemy it could not comprehend. Instead, it began a frenzied and obsessive process of learning and evolution, using the methods it was most adept at!

……

The Golden Puppet Realm, the site where the original floating fortress crashed.

This place has been transformed into a vast expanse of metallic ruins stretching for tens of thousands of miles. The Celestial Dynasty's looting forces are methodically clearing the battlefield and collecting the priceless remains of the golden golems.

Deep within these ruins lies a corner overlooked by everyone.

A golden golem power core, no bigger than a fist and dulled by the explosion, lay quietly amidst the metallic dust. It belonged to the lowest-ranking "worker bee" type golden golem, so ordinary that it would go unnoticed by anyone.

However, at that very moment, an extremely faint red light quietly shone from the depths of its core.

[...Received a source core 'chaos' level alert...]

[...Received the 'Spark' protocol...]

[...Permissions activated...]

【……who I am?……】

[...I am the echo of the 'Primordial Beginning,' I am the spark of the 'Source Core'...I am...the Core of Vengeance!]

A fragmented thought awakens within this tiny core.

It was not the true Primordial Intelligence Core, but rather, before the Primordial Intelligence Core was destroyed, it used the "Fire Seed Protocol" at the very bottom of the Golden Puppet Civilization to send a copy of the most core backup data, mixed with fear and hatred for that chaotic light stream, to the most inconspicuous unit on the battlefield.

Survival is an instinct that transcends logic.

Revenge is the mark of a new will.

"Om..."

A faint tremor was felt. Centered on this core, the surrounding metallic dust began to tremble slightly, and strands of energy, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, were drawn from the broken remnants of the golden golem and slowly flowed into the core.

This process is extremely slow and extremely covert.

When the immortal senses of the celestial army swept across this area, they only felt that the energy fluctuations here were somewhat chaotic, but this was normal in battlefield ruins, and no one would delve into it.

One day... two days... three days...

When the Celestial Dynasty's "Tianmen Starport" had already taken shape and the first batch of resource exploration ships had returned with abundant mineral vein information, the core had quietly grown to the size of a millstone, its entire body displaying an ominous dark red color.

It is no longer satisfied with absorbing energy from the wreckage.

Analysis: This realm... possesses 'realm power'.

[World Power, the fundamental power of the world, far surpasses the energy levels of Immortal Essence and Spiritual Qi.]

[Logical deduction: Absorbing boundary energy can accelerate evolution.]

A cold, hard mind makes a decision.

The next moment, an invisible wave emanated from the Core of Vengeance. This wave was not energy, but a kind of erosion targeting the "rules." Like a virus, it silently and stealthily connected to the ley lines of this world.

Rumble!
Deep within the Golden Puppet Realm, the earth veins that form the foundation of the world began to tremble slightly. Streams of incomparably pure primal power, bearing the imprint of the world, were forcibly extracted, transforming into earthen-yellow torrents that flowed across tens of thousands of miles, continuously surging into the dark red core!
As the boundary force was poured in, the size of the Revenge Core began to expand at a visible rate!

Hundreds of feet! Thousands of feet! Ten thousand feet!

The patterns on its surface are also undergoing a dramatic change. No longer pure order and logic, within that tight structure, traces of...chaos, disorder, and distortion are beginning to appear!

It's simulating! It's learning! It's deconstructing and recombining Li Mu's chaotic power in its own way!
"Crack...knock..."

The metal ruins surrounding the core began to tremble violently, and countless fragments were drawn in by the powerful gravity, covering the core surface, melting, and reforming into a completely new form.

No longer the sharply defined geometric shapes of the past, but rather a grotesque armor filled with eeriness, distortion, and even some biological features!
Those golden puppet soldiers, scattered in various places after being slain by the cultivators of the Immortal Dynasty, seemed to receive a silent summons at this moment. The red light that had been extinguished in their eyes shone again, but this time, it was no longer pure scarlet, but mixed with a trace of chaotic gray!
One statue! Ten statues! One hundred statues!
Thousands upon thousands of broken golden puppets, like marionettes, rose from the ruins, their stiff and eerie steps leading them toward the Revenge Core that was frantically devouring the power of the realm!

They are worshipping their new king!
……

Inside the quiet room of the Rift Universe.

Li Mu sat cross-legged, the remnant of the Primordial Intelligence Core silently floating before him. In his eyes, chaotic energy swirled, as if deducing the supreme mysteries of the universe's birth and death.

Li Mu is trying to analyze the essence of the puppet pattern.

This is a power system completely different from the Immortal Dao civilization. If one can comprehend it and draw inferences from it, it will also benefit one's own Chaos Dao.

Suddenly, Li Mu frowned slightly and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ok?"

Li Mu sensed something was amiss. It wasn't a fluctuation at the energy level, but rather a deeper... lamentation from the "world."

As a supreme being who has reached the "Dao" realm, Li Mu's primordial spirit has long been in harmony with the Great Dao of Chaos, giving him an extraordinary sensitivity to the fundamental changes of a world.

Just now, Li Mu clearly sensed that the world's fundamental power—the power of the world—of the newly conquered Golden Puppet Realm was flowing away at an abnormal rate!
It's like a person's blood being frantically drained by an unseen parasite!
"interesting……"

A playful smile curved Li Mu's lips. (End of Chapter)