Warhammer Cultivation: Cultivating the Tao Te Ching in the 40K Universe

Whether you seal it away, or... completely erase it from this universe, I will bear all the consequences.

Hector accepted this heavy, trust-filled entrustment.

He knew that this meant that a deeper causal relationship had been established between him and the Lord of the Phoenix, one that transcended superiors and subordinates, and even the concept of "fellow Daoists."

He accepted the cause and effect.

He bowed deeply to Forgrim's retreating figure.

"As you wish, my Primarch."

......

He, along with his Dao Guards and the Sage Alkan, who was thrilled to finally be able to study this "ultimate creation of chaos" up close, formally bid farewell to Forgrim.

As the cruiser "Seeker" slowly sailed away from the magnificent, dreamlike fleet, Hector stood behind the porthole on the bridge, gazing at the cold, stagnant container in front of him, which was enveloped by layers of energy fields and Imperial Guard runes.

He could sense that the demonic sword within was still unwillingly uttering a silent, alluring whisper.

His mission was a success. He not only saved a Primarch, but also obtained one of the most dangerous and valuable "research samples" in the Warhammer universe.

He thought he had temporarily extinguished a fire, but little did he know that beneath the unseen ashes, the real flames had only just begun...

Burning silently.

Just hours before he left the Proud Phoenix.

Outside the stasis field chamber with the highest security level that sealed the Sword of Ral, a hidden door silently slid open.

Chief Pharmacist Fabius Bayer, dressed in a jet-black stealth combat suit that could block all energy sensing, walked in like a ghost.

Chapter 89 Really Going, Just Staying

He looked at the indestructible energy cage that the Primarch had personally ordered to be sealed, and a smile full of mockery and pity appeared on his face.

“My Lord, my Lord…” he murmured to himself, his voice filled with deep disappointment in his “shortsighted” genetic father. “You only see the ‘flaws,’ but you can’t see the endless ‘possibilities’ hidden behind those flaws. You are afraid of change, you are afraid of losing control. And I…”

He slowly took another sword from his bosom.

One sword, in terms of its shape, weight, energy fluctuations, and even the flowing silver light on its blade, was exactly the same as the real Ral's Sword...

A perfect replica.

"...And I embrace it."

In the most chaotic hours following the tragedy at Phoenix Nest, while everyone's attention was drawn to the Primarch's rage and the Champion's death, Fabius Bayer had already used his highest authority as Chief Apothecary to enter the Stasis Chamber under the guise of "conducting a safety assessment and data collection," leaving behind a "secret door."

Now, he has secretly swapped the real demon sword with a perfect fake he had secretly crafted—a fake that is physically identical to the original except for lacking the "soul (great demon)" originating from chaos.

He looked at the genuine article in his hand, his eyes, bloodshot from fanaticism, filled with a morbid love, like a father looking at his newborn child.

“Go, my beautiful ‘key’.” He smiled and carefully placed the fake key back into the center of the energy cage. “Go into the hands of that mortal and play your role as the ‘sealed curse’.”

"And you, my true 'perfection'..."

He lowered his head and, with an almost kissing motion, gently touched the cold, alluring blade of the sword.

"...together with me, aboard this colossal ship that pursues false perfection, we will quietly open a new door for our legion...to true 'divinity'."

He knew the Primarch no longer trusted him. But so what?

He, Fabius Bayer, never needed anyone's trust.

All he needs are... test subjects.

And now, he possesses both—Lucius's sacred sample and the true demonic sword, both lying quietly in his most secret genetic laboratory, located at the bottom of the warship.

Its silent whispers, through its new owner, continue to spread quietly on this colossal ship that pursues false perfection, like the most deadly and undetectable cancer cells.

......

As the hull of the Seeker, like a drop of blood merging into the sea, silently slid into a top-secret military port in Terra's near-Earth orbit, personally designated by Makado, the magnificent symphony of the Third Legion, filled with contradictions and lamentations, was like a lingering dream of the previous era, completely left behind.

Hector stood before the enormous holographic porthole on the bridge, gazing silently at the cradle of human civilization below, surrounded by countless starports and defense platforms.

Terra, the planet that seems to hold memories of two lifetimes, evokes a complex and indescribable emotion in him with each return.

Behind him, the thirty Dao Guards, their expressions icy, exuded an even more solemn aura than when they left.

The ultimate clash between "perfection" and "ugliness" in the Third Legion was like a trial of "inner demons," forging their already resilient Dao hearts, hardened by the ashes of Monakia, into something even purer and colder.

On the other side of the bridge, the Mechanicus sage Alkan had completely immersed his massive cyborg body in an "information cocoon" composed of countless streams of data light.

His countless optical sensors were analyzing, with an almost greedy fervor, every minute energy fluctuation emanating from the sealed demonic sword.

"01 - A logical paradox has been generated. The energy decay curve of the sample 'Sword of Ral' does not conform to the entropy increase model of any known chaotic item." His cold electronic voice rang out in Hector's private communication channel, filled with the contradictory emotions of a scientist facing a "miracle" that cannot be explained by existing theories, a mixture of confusion and excitement.

“Based on my preliminary modeling of the ‘cancer of the soul’ theory, the entropy increase effect of this sword’s ‘qi’ is slowly decaying in a non-linear way. It… seems to be ‘dying’.”

Hector's heart skipped a beat.

“Yes, dead.” Alkan’s electronic voice carried a hint of the “discoverer’s” certainty.

"The chaotic pheromones within it, filled with 'temptation' and 'corruption,' are losing their activity. It's like... a beautiful poisonous flower that has been uprooted from the soil; although it still exudes fragrance, its vitality is withering away at a visible rate."

According to my current calculation model, in approximately three Terra Standard years, it will completely degenerate into an ordinary object, devoid of any psionic effects except for its special material.

Hector fell silent. He knew that, from a "scientific" point of view, Alcan's analysis was absolutely correct.

But he also knew that behind this might lie a more terrifying truth that could not be quantified by any data.

Have I overlooked something? Or rather, who did I forget to include?

Hector, on a whim, slowly rose from the cold deck. He didn't answer Alcan, but instead walked to the most spacious and quietest area in the center of the bridge and sat down cross-legged.

He took out the three hexagonal nuts from his pocket, which he had already polished to a smooth, jade-like finish, and gently placed them in his palm.

He slowly closed his eyes, banishing everything from the outside world—Alkan's logical storm, the deathly will of the Dao Guardians, and even Terra's massive gravitational field—outside his mind. His spirit, like a drop of water falling into an abyss, instantly sank into the ever-expanding and profound ocean of true essence that had grown ever larger after Foundation Establishment.

This time, he wasn't asking about the future, but about the present. He wasn't asking about good or bad fortune, but about truth or falsehood.

"When heaven and earth were in chaos, yin and yang were first separated. With this weapon in hand, what difference is there between truth and falsehood?"

He silently recited the general principles of the *I Ching*, focusing all his spiritual energy into a single, pure, and sharp thought, pouring it entirely into the three cold nuts in his palm. That thought was singular—

"What do you think of this sword?"

Chapter 90 Fire Wind Cauldron and Heavenly Wind Encounter (Long Chapter)

He could feel that the three ordinary metal objects, nurtured by his vast true essence at the Foundation Establishment stage, seemed to have come to life. They trembled slightly, creating a wondrous resonance with his Dao heart, which was seeking the truth.

Then, he let go.

Three nuts bounced and spun crisply on the smooth deck before finally coming to a stop.

Hector opened his eyes, glanced at the yin-yang combination that appeared, memorized it, and then repeated it again.

Six throws, six stops.

A complete hexagram, composed of six lines, took shape clearly and instantly within his spiritual consciousness!

The original hexagram is "Fire over Wind - Ding"!

The upper trigram is Li (fire), and the lower trigram is Xun (wind). Li represents fire, and Xun represents wind, and also wood.

The wind fanned the flames, cooking the contents of the cauldron. The cauldron, a national treasure, symbolizes stability, support, and sustenance.

“The tripod represents renewal.” The true meaning of the hexagram instantly came to Hector’s mind.

This hexagram perfectly corresponds to the current situation!

This sealed demonic sword, wasn't it the very weapon that Forgrim regarded as capable of "renewing the old and establishing the new," allowing the Legion to "take the new"? It was solemnly handed to him, like a sacrificial offering cooked in a cauldron, awaiting its final "enjoyment."

Judging from the divination, everything seems to be fine. This is indeed a "treasure" with immense value and transformative power.

However, Hector's brow furrowed deeply. During the divination, he clearly sensed that one of the hexagrams was "moving."

The fifth line, line 95.

Ding, with yellow ears and golden handle, is auspicious and righteous.

This line is the most auspicious line in the entire hexagram. It symbolizes a tripod vessel with the most magnificent golden handles and the strongest golden string, and its interior is filled with a righteous force that is conducive to upholding the right path.

This is the state that "fake" magic sword is in at this moment—beautiful, harmless, and even Alcan's scientific instruments show that it is "returning to the mortal world," full of the meaning of "benefiting the adherence to the righteous path."

But the essence of the I Ching lies not in "stillness," but in "change"!

When the most auspicious "Nine-Five" line is activated, the essence of the entire hexagram will undergo a complete and earth-shattering reversal!

Hector's mind instantly sank into the new hexagram that emerged after the change of lines.

"Tianfeng Gou"!

When the word "Gou" exploded in his mind like a thunderclap, Hector's body shuddered violently! A chilling coldness instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

The character 姤 means "to meet". It signifies an unexpected encounter.

The upper trigram is Qian (☰), and the lower trigram is Xun (☴). Qian represents heaven, yang, and strength; Xun represents wind, yin, and compliance. The first yin is born, supported by the five yang.

This is one of the most ominous hexagrams among the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching!

It symbolizes that beneath that seemingly strong and bright exterior, a most subtle yet deadly "yin" element has quietly infiltrated!

It obediently lurks beneath all masculine forces, seemingly harmless, yet like the most deadly plague, it begins to corrode and disintegrate the entire system from the very bottom up!

"Do not marry a woman; do not keep her for long."

The cold, cautionary pronouncements of the divination struck his heart like a morning bell and a evening drum!

Unusable, not sustainable...

This is no treasure at all! It's clearly a deadly "romantic encounter" filled with deception and danger!

"The cauldron is magnificent, but its interior is hollow. It is made of gold and jade on the outside, but rotten cotton inside..."

"The encounter in the hexagram 'Gou' is meant to confuse. A smile hides a dagger, a clandestine plan is secretly devised..."

Hector slowly opened his eyes. In those dark pupils, all confusion and speculation had faded away, leaving only an absolute coldness and clarity that came from knowing the truth.

“Perhaps it is not ‘dead,’ Your Excellency,” Hector said slowly, his voice calm and profound. “Perhaps it has simply… returned to its original state.”

He didn't continue the topic. He knew that some "principles" couldn't be explained using the language of "tools." He simply turned his gaze back to the cold, stagnant container in his hand, which was wrapped in layers of energy fields and Imperial Guard runes.

He knew that Forgrim, the proud Phoenix Lord, had personally handed over the demonic sword that had once captivated him, in order to sever ties with the past and to protect his newly rebuilt and fragile Dao heart.

This is a heavy entrustment, filled with trust.

But now it seems that behind this entrustment lies a huge conspiracy full of irony of fate.

“It was my carelessness… Fabius Bayer…”

Hector silently uttered the name in his heart.

Alcan's data is correct; the "fake" is "dying."

But the essence of chaos is eternal; it doesn't die, it can only be sealed or transferred. Therefore, this dissipating energy... isn't death, it's a "disguise"!

A perfect disguise, capable of fooling the Mechanicus's highest-level scanner! It can temporarily conceal the fact that he's not using his full-power "Aura Observation" technique!

"Luring the tiger away from the mountain... Shedding its shell like a cicada..."

Two ancient words, brimming with Eastern wisdom, slowly emerged from the depths of his memory belonging to "Lin Chen".

Only now did he realize how "naive" his metaphysical theory, full of "Tao" and "Qi," was in the face of that true "scientific data" madman who regarded genes as the ultimate code.

Fabius, from the very beginning, had no intention of engaging in any form of "debate" with himself.

He simply... used himself, used Forgrim's collapsing faith, and used everyone's panic and chaos to stage the most perfect "self-inflicted injury" scheme.

He traded a perfect fake for the real key that could unlock the door to "divinity".

Even Hector belatedly suspected that Lucius's "corpse" might have fallen into Bayer's hands.

With what appeared to be a complete "failure," he won himself the most precious, and also the most fatal, time and space.

“Well done…Fabius Bayer.”

Elbas... Fabius... you two truly deserve to be the most hated characters in Warhammer for years :)

Hector sighed softly to himself. He knew that he, and indeed the entire empire, had severely underestimated the terrifying nature of this man.

He was not the kind of "preacher" like Iribus who was keen to spread his faith in the public eye.

He is a true "virus breeder" lurking in the deepest shadows.