Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?-Chapter 31: Huang of Study Materials

The elder, addressed as Uncle Mo, had a slight change in his expression upon hearing this. The sharp, oppressive gaze of his eagle-like eyes softened considerably as he nodded slightly at Ji Qinglin and said:
"Not bad, quick reaction."
Then he turned to the red-eyed girl and asked with concern:
"How are you? Not hurt, right?"
His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was gentle, completely different from the murderous aura he had just exuded when he burst into the room as if he were ready to kill everyone inside.
The red-eyed girl shook her head and said:
"No big deal, just that the feeling in my left leg hasn’t fully returned yet. What about your side?"
"Everything’s taken care of. Do we leave now, or wait until your leg recovers?"
Not wanting to linger and risk the embarrassing events from earlier being exposed, the red-eyed girl replied without hesitation:
"The sooner, the better. Let’s go now."
"Alright."
Uncle Mo glanced around the room before pulling out his wallet and extracting a few red bills.
"Thanks for helping us out, little brother. This is just a small token of appreciation. I hope you can forget that you ever saw us."
As he spoke, he placed the money on the table, weighing down one corner with a book.
Ji Qinglin lowered his handgun but did not return it, as the threat Uncle Mo posed was still too great.
Uncle Mo stepped forward, picked up the red-eyed girl, and started walking out.
Ji Qinglin reminded him:
"Don’t forget, you owe me a favor."
The red-eyed girl, afraid that Uncle Mo would press her for details, quickly urged:
"Got it, Uncle Mo, let’s go."
Uncle Mo wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t safe to stay. Without asking further, he carried the red-eyed girl and swiftly left the main hall. Although he was thin, he moved like a phantom, effortlessly carrying her as he disappeared into the night.
From the moment Uncle Mo had entered, Ji Qinglin had sensed that this man’s movement technique was exceptional. Now, seeing him leave, Ji Qinglin immediately activated Divine Perception to follow him.
Even while carrying someone, Uncle Mo’s footsteps were silent, and his movements were barely affected. He left behind afterimages as he leapt over the iron gate in a single bound.
By the time Ji Qinglin reached the door, Uncle Mo was already beside a long black sedan with its headlights off, still carrying the girl.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Uncle Mo turned and asked cautiously:
"Something else?"
Ji Qinglin had only followed to complete his scan of the movement technique. Now that he was questioned, he hesitated slightly before smiling and shaking his head.
"No, safe travels. Stay careful."
The red-eyed girl thought Ji Qinglin was about to ask for her name or contact information to claim his favor later. However, remembering how Uncle Mo had told him to forget everything, she kept quiet.
Still, she couldn’t deny that she owed him. Without his help, she wouldn’t have gotten out safely. Despite his flirtatious nature, he had saved her life. Just leaving some money behind and walking away without a word felt inappropriate. Helplessly, she murmured:
"My name is Qian Feng, Feng as in maple tree. Someone will thank you on my behalf in the future."
Ji Qinglin hadn’t expected her to give her name at this moment. He simply responded politely:
"Huang Silang, Huang as in study materials."
"…Uncle Mo, let’s go!"
Uncle Mo had no idea what these two young people were up to, nor did he ask. He simply placed Qian Feng in the back seat, gave a slight nod to "Huang Silang," and drove off. The black sedan never once turned on its lights.
Ji Qinglin let out a deep breath.
"Phew, what a packed day."
Divine Perception had successfully recorded a video. Uncle Mo’s movement technique was called Phantom Shadow Soul-Chasing Steps, which required not just precise energy circulation through the leg meridians but also highly practiced footwork.
Instead of going back inside, Ji Qinglin decided to strike while the iron was hot. He stayed in the courtyard, mimicking Uncle Mo’s movements while using Divine Perception to guide him in familiarizing himself with the energy circulation method for his foot meridians.
On the other side, after getting into the car, Qian Feng recounted the events at the courtyard to Uncle Mo. Of course, she told the version where she had been hiding inside while "Huang Silang" distracted the guards.
"So, he really is a good person. No wonder you took the risk of giving him your name."
Qian Feng found it hard to associate the flirtatious man with the term "good person." She replied dismissively:
"It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t know my full name or background, and there’s no chance of him running into me again anyway."
"As you say. For now, change into the clothes beside you and remove the bomb. You can’t show up at the company in such a disheveled state in two days."
Even without headlights, Uncle Mo’s driving was steadier than most people on an open highway in broad daylight. Qian Feng pulled the partition closed and began changing clothes in the back seat.
After changing, she reached into the pocket of her discarded pants and pulled out the small picture book she had hidden earlier. She had never seen anything like it before, and curiosity had made her take it. Of course, she wasn’t like that pervert—she was looking at it critically. But still, she couldn’t let Uncle Mo see it.
Yet as she pulled out the book, she felt that the pants she had just changed out of were slightly damp. She couldn’t help but recall the scene in the bedroom—the burning heat of that strong body pressing against her…
Qian Feng shook her head vigorously, opened the car window, and threw the discarded clothes out.
Noticing this, Uncle Mo asked curiously:
"What’s wrong? What got you so worked up?"
"Nothing. By the way, Uncle Mo, besides installing meridian software, are there any other ways to use techniques?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about this? Normally, of course, there aren’t."
"What do you mean by ‘normally’?"
Uncle Mo cleared his throat and explained:
"Most people don’t know this, but you should be aware that the historians the company funds have plenty of evidence proving that during the historical gap period, a war broke out between human technological civilization and cultivation civilization.
We don’t know the exact details of the battles, but we do know the outcome: the immortals of cultivation vanished—whether they left or perished is unknown. But fragments of their shattered divine consciousness spread out, which led to artificial intelligence developing self-awareness. Later, as human technology recovered, people used scientific methods to recreate ancient cultivation techniques, leading to the birth of modern cultivation."
Qian Feng slid open the partition and said:
"So, isn’t that the only way to cultivate now?"
Uncle Mo shook his head.
"You can’t put it like that. Modern cultivation is more like a one-sided imitation by human technology—academic but not truly Daoist. You’re still young, so you can’t feel it yet, but once you reach our level, you’ll experience the overwhelming frustration of hitting an insurmountable ceiling.
And according to the latest investigations, the war wasn’t just a clash between two civilizations. There were also cases where immortals and human scientists collaborated. Although historians have pieced this together from scattered clues, I believe that was the real fusion of technology and cultivation, combining the strengths of both. But by now, such methods have probably been lost to history."
Qian Feng had originally just wanted to ask about how "Huang Silang" had learned Yin-Yang Polar Extremes Palm so quickly, but Uncle Mo had clearly misunderstood and ended up giving her a whole lecture on modern cultivation’s origins.
"Aren’t these just academic speculations? Where’s the proof?"
Uncle Mo suddenly lowered his voice.
"The master’s collection of immortal remains—isn’t that proof?"
"Uncle Mo, so is the legend of collecting all the remains to attain immortality actually true?"
"No idea. But honestly, if someone could gather all the remains, they’d basically be an immortal already."