"If you ask me, the Immortal Formula Institute got too ambitious. They tried to refine a Supreme Immortal Pill, but they lost control and caused an accident."
"That’s nothing. If you really want to talk about accidents, was it any bigger than the one the Divine Weapon Institute caused? Back then, the Sect Leader invested who knows how much manpower and resources to refine that one Supreme Treasure, and it ended up throwing the whole sect into chaos. It took a tremendous effort to fix everything."
"Shh... Watch what you say!"
Wang Ping listened silently, committing their words to memory. At the same time, he vaguely realized that his transmigration this time seemed to have really hit the jackpot.
’A Cultivation World?’
Wang Ping was instantly thrilled. After all, who hadn’t dreamed of cultivating to become an immortal and living forever? ’Did I transmigrate and become a disciple of an Immortal Sect this time?’
But a second later, his fantasy was cruelly shattered.
A joyous cheer rang out. "The refinement is finally a success! This batch of Warriors is finished and ready for delivery."
’Refined? Finished? Delivered?’
Just as Wang Ping was feeling bewildered, the hazy, colorful illusion before his eyes suddenly rippled. A sharp pain followed, and a massive amount of information and memories flooded his mind.
The good news was, he had indeed transmigrated into a Cultivation Sect.
The bad news was, he hadn’t become a disciple of the Immortal Sect.
’I am... a Warrior of the Guardian Court.’
In other words, he was a puppet, a servant specially refined by the Immortal Sect to serve its disciples. His status in the sect was about the same as a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Just then, the voice spoke again:
"Alright, hurry up and apply the Talisman Seals."
After those few simple words, Wang Ping felt a cool sensation on the top of his head. It expelled the scorching heat that had filled his body and spread through his limbs.
This should have been a very comfortable feeling, but Wang Ping felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.
It was because as the coolness spread throughout his body, he suddenly had the urge to pledge lifelong loyalty to the Immortal Sect. This change was clearly not normal.
’Is this... the Immortal Sect’s method for controlling Warriors?’
Wang Ping was horrified as memories flooded his mind:
’All Warriors are blank slates when they’re first created. This cool sensation directly generates their personalities, even forming a mental brand.’
’But I’m different. I’m a transmigrator. My own memories and personality were already formed. The Immortal Sect obviously didn’t anticipate this. Although it will impact my personality and cause some cognitive confusion, I can still tell the difference if I just have a moment to recover.’
Thinking of this, Wang Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When the cool sensation had first struck him, he had almost cried out. The feeling of cognitive dissonance was extremely unpleasant.
At the same time, he also had a rather bad feeling.
Refining puppets, infusing memories, mental branding... How to put it? Although Wang Ping could understand the logic, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.
Then there was the role of a Warrior. The implanted memories described them as "practical and durable tools." This description did little to ease Wang Ping’s worries. After all, no matter how you looked at it, a Warrior had a human form. ’Were they intentionally made to look human, or were they originally human?’
’Is this even a proper Immortal Sect?’
It couldn’t be a Demon Sect, could it?
Wang Ping subconsciously tried to communicate with the Taiping Scripture. However, when he focused his consciousness, he could still see that boundless Morgue.
But that was all.
He could see it, but he couldn’t enter. This was the current state of the Taiping Scripture. To enter the Morgue in person, he had to borrow the Mighty Power of a Scripture Scroll.
Unfortunately, he currently only had one Scripture Scroll.
The Outer Heaven Demon.
Looking at the Scripture Scroll, which was grayed out and on cooldown for another seven days, Wang Ping forced himself to remain calm.
He immediately thought of another plan:
’How do I increase the number of Scripture Scrolls?’
If he could enter the Morgue by using a Scripture Scroll, and the Outer Heaven Demon was unavailable, he just needed to obtain a new one. It was a life-saving measure, after all.
As if sensing his thoughts, the towering book inside the Morgue stirred. On the open page, golden light once again converged into words.
[Mundane Mortal Objects, Earth Essence, Heaven-Nurtured Splendor, Universal Rarities, Unique True Treasures]
[Collect items of the types listed above and absorb them into the book. Each item collected will add one Scripture Scroll. The quality of each subsequent item collected must be higher than the previous one.]
’...Ah.’
Wang Ping instantly realized how tricky this was. ’The quality of each collected item must be higher than the last. That means I can’t just collect things randomly.’
’For example, if the first item I collect is an Earth Essence, then it will be pointless to collect any ’Mundane Mortal Objects’ after that. It would be like forfeiting that entire tier, even though the benefit from both is the same.’
’They both add one Scripture Scroll.’
’So, the most efficient method is to start with ’Mundane Mortal Objects’ and slowly work my way up. That’s the only way to avoid pointless waste.’
Beyond that, this function had another use.
Identification.
’In the future, if I see something I don’t recognize, I can just show it to the Taiping Scripture, and it should immediately provide the most impartial judgment.’
Of course, these were all matters for the future.
Although the future looked promising, a promising future was bullshit if he didn’t live to see it. Wang Ping knew this well, and the will to survive inside him was about to explode.
’Things have already come to this. Even if I had a pill of regret, I’d have to wait seven days to take it.’
’And as long as I survive this, I can collect more materials in the future, unlock more Scripture Scrolls, and grow stronger and stronger. I just need time to develop.’
Wang Ping’s thoughts suddenly took a turn. ’But... then again.’
If he thought about it carefully, setting aside the terrifying implications of everything he’d learned, the Immortal Sect was actually quite good. It taught the principles of being a proper person in everything it did.
’I should actually be grateful.’
Grateful to the Immortal Sect for giving me the opportunity to serve Immortals.
Grateful to the Immortal Sect for giving me the opportunity to approach the Immortal Dao.
Grateful to the Immortal Sect for giving me the opportunity to be reborn.
’...Fuck!’ Wang Ping shuddered, snapping out of the strange thoughts that had just inexplicably surfaced.
But even so, he couldn’t completely suppress a sliver of agreement with those "grateful" thoughts.
As a Warrior, the greatest happiness was to receive the Immortal Sect’s approval. The more approval one received, the higher one’s value as a tool.
This was what it meant to be a human sacrifice...
’...No, that’s wrong!’
The next moment, Wang Ping was fully lucid again, his scalp tingling with dread. ’As long as I’m a Warrior, will my mind constantly be affected like this?’
He could resist for now, but if this continued, he couldn’t guarantee he would remain lucid. Eventually, he would probably become nothing more than a living weapon for the Immortal Sect.
’You’ve got to be kidding me!’
At this thought, only one thing remained on Wang Ping’s mind:
’Seven days. I just have to survive for seven days. Once the cooldown for the Outer Heaven Demon is over, everything will be okay. Until then, I have to lay low and hold on!’