Chapter 33: Cultivation

Although Chu Zhu had indeed found a pile of entertainment, he did not start indulging immediately.

"Nuwa-17, whether it’s Li Kang, Ning Linglong, or anyone else—the moment you detect they are within five minutes of the base, or even if they show the slightest inclination to enter—notify me immediately. Simultaneously, shut down all ongoing projects and clear all background access logs!"

"Furthermore..."

Chu Zhu took a deep breath and finally asked the question he cared about most. "Nuwa-17, with my current clearance, am I able to obtain cultivation techniques?"

Whether it was the guest-level clearance he had hoped for before or the permanent Level 1 clearance gained from the butterfly effect, the greatest utility for Chu Zhu was the techniques—becoming stronger was the only thing that mattered.

"Processing request, searching clearance levels!" Nuwa-17 remained silent for a full thirteen seconds before replying, "Clearance verified! Available for reading: The First Chapter of Basic Body Refining and The First Chapter of Basic Immortal Cultivation."

"The first chapter? This must correspond to the first realm that Li Kang mentioned." However, when Chu Zhu heard the last word, the joy on his face froze, and his expression turned grave. "Immortal cultivation?!"

Body refining, Chu Zhu understood what that entailed. But this immortal cultivation... was it the kind he imagined? Or was it some other special cultivation method also based on nuclear radiation?

"Give me a detailed overview of the differences between body refining and immortal cultivation!"

Nuwa-17 was as calm and unhurried as ever.

"Body refining involves consuming radioactive water and utilizing techniques to metabolize the body as much as possible, cycling out dead cells for new ones, thereby achieving a transformation."

"Immortal cultivation involves the direct absorption of radioactive ore, stimulating the pineal gland in the forehead to unlock human potential and manifest various strange powers that transcend the physical form."

Chu Zhu: "..."

This radioactive water—alright, he figured out how he had entered the first realm of body refining! It turned out that by using the technique to constantly force cellular metabolism, one could grow stronger... which explained why he had suddenly dropped dead earlier.

But this radioactive ore.

"It couldn't possibly be high-purity uranium, could it?" Chu Zhu shuddered. How is one supposed to absorb that?

"Recite both techniques in full! Also, give me a brief introduction: if I want to embark on the path of immortal cultivation, what should I do? Or, if I want to practice both simultaneously, are there any specific taboos?"

Chu Zhu began to memorize with a serious expression. One minute passed, then two... twenty minutes later.

Chu Zhu listened expressionlessly to the still-ongoing First Chapter of Body Refining. Large portions of the text were not specific training methods, but lists of taboos! They told him what not to do, what materials and medicinal herbs to use, and how to grind them into pills with specific effects to treat various symptoms that might arise in the body.

"It’s unbelievably troublesome!" Chu Zhu grumbled inwardly. Fortunately, based on his previous experience, he could simply die once to complete such complex bodily assistance.

Finally, after half an hour, Chu Zhu finished the chapter on body maintenance and realized why his second dive into the radioactive water hadn't resulted in further evolution.

"After metabolizing the mutations caused by nuclear radiation to a certain low level, the body adapts to the reinforcement! Only then can one proceed to the next step... As for how to determine if one has adapted? It’s based on personal intuition."

"?"

To be honest, this cultivation technique was quite irresponsible. Chu Zhu pondered and concluded that he just needed to wait—wait until his body adapted to the reinforcement!

"Then, Nuwa-17, what about this immortal cultivation method?" To be fair, Chu Zhu hadn't really expected Nuwa to provide a reliable technique. But this time, it exceeded his expectations!

At the third second, Chu Zhu’s eyes burned with intensity as he listened with rapt attention. At the thirtieth minute, having finished the first pass, Chu Zhu thought for a moment and asked Nuwa to begin the second recitation.

"Place high-purity radioactive ore against the forehead to stimulate the pineal gland, then begin meditation. Absorb it through the Basic Heavenly Heart chapter! If you cannot absorb it, you will die... succeed or perish! Therefore, the mortality rate for immortal cultivators is far higher than that of body refiners."

"However, in exchange, their combat power at the same level is much stronger... they awaken certain human potentials, possessing some kind of superpower? Or, to use the terminology of the immortal cultivation chapter, supernatural abilities!"

Although Chu Zhu had pondered it for a long time, he felt that what was called "immortal cultivation" was actually more like a form of screening, a benign mutation.

Nuwa-17: "Summary: The difference between immortal cultivators and body refiners—immortal cultivators possess supernatural abilities (2,800 types currently recorded), while body refiners rely solely on pure physical strength... Additionally, body refiners undergo massive physical changes, whereas immortal cultivators do not."

"!!!" Chu Zhu was startled. Wait, if that's the case...

"Ning Linglong has a normal physique. Li Kang said Ning Linglong is exceptionally gifted! So that’s it."

Recalling the abnormal physiques of Li Kang and Guan Fei, Chu Zhu nodded thoughtfully. It seemed Ning Linglong was an immortal cultivator. "But, Bi Xuan's physique is also normal! He couldn't possibly be one too, right? If so, wouldn't this team have two immortal cultivators?"

According to Nuwa-17, the number of immortal cultivators compared to body refiners was far beyond just "few." After all, body refiners had a set of methods to assist in enhancing cellular metabolism, but for immortal cultivators, the first step relied entirely on enduring! It was a matter of luck; if you couldn't activate it, you died.

"By the way," Chu Zhu suddenly thought of a key factor and asked urgently, "Nuwa-17, can you tell me who created these two sets of techniques? And in which era were they created?"

Then...

"Message traffic is busy, please try again later."

Chu Zhu fell silent. He wasn't disappointed, because Nuwa-17 not answering was, in itself, an answer.

Then...

"Let's play." Chu Zhu threw himself wholeheartedly into entertainment. He planned to listen to music and read novels for two hours, then play some games and watch a movie. After all, he didn't have any radioactive ore for immortal cultivation, and for body refining... all he had to do was wait! If he didn't play, would he just sit there and suffer from internal friction?

The only regret was... no cola, no fries, no chips. Something felt missing while playing!

He ended up playing all night long.

"It's six o'clock in the morning." Chu Zhu was still full of energy, without a hint of drowsiness. One had to admit, transcendent beings were truly resilient!

Moreover, Chu Zhu didn't worry that staying awake would leave him unable to wake up in reality.

He had tested it long ago: time in the dream world and time in the real world were not synchronized.

Whether he was constantly resetting in the dream or staying awake for two or three days or even longer, as long as he fell asleep in the dream, he would always steadily wake up at six o'clock the next morning in the real world.