Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
Chapter 15: The Origin of Anomalies
And when the disciple token said that it was the most knowledgeable existence of all, it even paused deliberately, then let out the sound of clearing its throat before continuing:
“Ahem.”
“I entered the Defying Heaven Sect ten years ago and passed the most difficult disciple trial in all these years with perfect results.”
“Eight years ago, I became the number one disciple of the Inner Sect and won the approval of every elder. They all fought to take me as their disciple, until the Patriarch emerged from seclusion and took me away in the end.”
“Five years ago, I emerged from seclusion as the number one prodigy of the cultivation world. At the same time, I also obtained all of the Defying Heaven Sect’s knowledge. There is nothing I do not know.”
“And now, the Defying Heaven Sect has decided to let me take responsibility for nurturing its new disciples. The Patriarch said that seeing immature new disciples like you would keep me from forgetting the road I traveled and help me remember my original heart forever.”
“But I did not expect to meet you.”
“Heh... Ning Ri, I truly am surprised. I never imagined I would see you among the ranks of the new disciples.”
“With aptitude equal to mine, you should not have turned out like this.”
“By now, I am already a renowned figure in the cultivation world. By rights, you should also have been someone whose fame was rapidly rising. Yet to my surprise, while I walk shoulder to shoulder with the other elders of the Defying Heaven Sect, you still have to participate in this disciple trial and start over from the beginning.”
“I am somewhat disappointed, somewhat wistful, but... no matter. I have never been a petty person. Since your fortune is deep enough for you to be nurtured by me...”
“I will certainly make you understand what cultivation truly is!”
The disciple token’s voice remained airy and detached, yet mixed within it was a faint arrogance and disdain.
It was a manifestation of superiority.
It was clearly not insulting him outright, yet it somehow still made a person inexplicably angry.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Ri said, “Transfer me to a human agent.”
The moment the words fell,
the disciple token fell silent again.
After a long silence, it said:
“Your question is too complex. The token was unable to understand it. Please ask again.”
Ning Ri gave a sly chuckle, a trace of smugness on his face, but it quickly turned into speechlessness.
Why was he getting worked up over a disciple token?
How was this any different from arguing on the phone with an intelligent customer service assistant?
Then Ning Ri calmed himself and directly treated the thing as AI instead. He asked, “Hello. Since you are supposed to nurture me, then you need to answer my questions properly.”
The disciple token said, “Very well. I will do my best to satisfy you.”
Ning Ri said, “Then let me ask you this: what is an anomaly?”
The disciple token said in surprise, “You do not even understand that?”
As it spoke, an unmistakable sense of superiority spread out.
Ning Ri: “?”
Would you just answer the question properly? Why were you throwing it back at him?
Had he not chosen Warm and Caring?
The disciple token continued, “But considering that so many years have passed and you are still only at this level of cultivation, I suppose it makes sense that you do not understand. So I have already organized the information for you in advance. I will read out the important parts.”
Ning Ri gave an “Mm.” That sounded about right.
The disciple token said, “When the Patriarch personally taught me, he once told me...”
“An anomaly is called an anomaly because it is a place with countless rules that differ from those of the normal cultivation world.”
“Those rules are strange, absurd, and bizarre... If one does not act according to them, one will face injury, suffering, or even death. That is why such places are called anomalies.”
“Mm, I remember the Patriarch saying that anomalies are divided into innate anomalies and acquired anomalies.”
“Innate anomalies evolved from secret realms. Oh... I forgot. You have wasted too much time and do not even know what secret realms are. Honestly...”
Ning Ri: “?”
The disciple token said, “Let me explain it to you from the beginning.”
“Our cultivation world contains countless small worlds. These small worlds are secret realms.”
“At first, ownerless secret realms had no restrictions of any kind. It was only after a cultivator took control of a secret realm that the conditions for entering it, and the method of entry, could be altered.”
“But then, one day, no one knew what happened in heaven and earth, and the secret realms changed drastically.”
“Ownerless secret realms became extremely strange, while even controlled secret realms fell into chaos, causing countless deaths and injuries.”
“And that is what an innate anomaly is!”
“Did you understand?”
After listening, Ning Ri nodded slightly. So that was how it was. But aloud, he said, “Your explanation was terrible. I could not understand it.”
He was stress-testing the disciple token’s persona to see how well it had been made.
If he could offer some optimization suggestions to the people who made the disciple token, he might even earn a few contribution points.
After hearing that, the disciple token became somewhat annoyed. “How can you not even understand something this simple...? Fine. Since you do not understand, I will explain it to you again...”
Seeing this, Ning Ri hurriedly stopped it. “No need. I understand now. Next question—tell me about acquired anomalies.”
The disciple token said, “Acquired anomalies are formed after the fall of powerful experts. Some people speculate that after the upheaval of heaven and earth, anomalies invaded the corpses of those powerful beings, ultimately creating anomalous lands.”
“Such acquired anomalies are even more dangerous and terrifying than innate anomalies, and they are also far more complex.”
Hearing that, Ning Ri suddenly understood. Then he said, “Then what does it mean to tame an anomaly?”
The disciple token said, “Tame an anomaly? Does that even need to be asked? Naturally, it means controlling it. Has your ability to comprehend really deteriorated to this extent?”
There was a thick sense of disappointment in its tone.
Ning Ri: “...”
What exactly were you disappointed about?
Forget it. He had chosen this persona himself. Next time, he would pick a normal one.
Only then did the disciple token continue, “Taming an anomaly is an uncontrollable ability. No one knows what actions are required to tame an anomaly.”
“Some people simply act according to an anomaly’s rules and ultimately gain control over it. Others must continue divining over and over again before finally gaining control over it. Still others rely on endlessly stir-frying and cooking rice before finally gaining control over it...”
“There are no patterns or methods to the taming of anomalies.”
On hearing this, Ning Ri felt he had gained a basic understanding of anomalies.
Then he asked curiously, “But are mortals not troubled by anomalies?”
He had been a mortal for so many years, yet he had never once heard of anomalies...
The disciple token said, “Of course mortals are troubled by anomalies. How could you even think otherwise? You are too ignorant! Are you really the Ning Ri who is supposed to be comparable to me?”
Ning Ri was so annoyed he laughed. “...”
The disciple token said, “The anomaly afflicting mortals is this: without the help of a cultivator, they cannot obtain the means to cultivate.”
“They must be taught cultivation methods by living cultivators before they can cultivate.”
“In ancient times, mortals could encounter a fortunate opportunity, obtain an inheritance, and rise as immortals by themselves. But nowadays, even if mortals pass by places of inheritance, they gain nothing at all.”
Hearing that, Ning Ri froze—
Was that true?
Then... how had he managed it?
He had obtained his Qi Refining Art by chance—
He had picked it up one night out of nowhere.
At the time, he had thought he had stumbled across a fortunate encounter. Later, when he discovered that the cultivation method was only a Qi Refining Art and an incomplete one at that, he had even clicked his tongue...
But after hearing the disciple token say this, Ning Ri’s thoughts immediately became rather subtle...
The disciple token said, “And because mortals carry a mortal anomaly upon them, they will not suffer the disturbance of other anomalies.”
“It is only after they become cultivators that the mortal anomaly is broken.”
“So, do you understand now?”