novelraw Chapter 18 : The Transcendence Experiment
Chapter 18 : The Transcendence Experiment
Chapter 18: The Transcendence Experiment
Li Jun stepped on the flower petals, walking step by step toward the light, like a mortal striding toward the blazing sun in the sky. At last, he passed through that golden radiance and merged into the “sun.”
“Not here?”
Li Jun stood silently, gazing into the distance, his eyes carrying a hint of disappointment.
He did not see the enormous peach tree that the Female Priest had transformed into, nor did he see the Divine Stone he had expected.
Here, there were only cement roads and brick buildings—parts of Tao Mountain Island’s small town that had been dragged inside.
After tens of thousands of years, that Divine Stone seemed to have long vanished from this place. Of course, it was also possible that the place he had arrived at was not the same space he had once been in.
Li Jun found a place to sit down, and after a long while, he made a decision.
“To completely seal away the Tao Mountain Island and the Wood Guests outside.”
He thought of the final image he had seen in ancient times, the Great Roc disappearing into the flow of years, and also of the peach trees transformed from Nüjue and the Female Priest.
Whether it was the Divine Wood or the Blue Bird, in essence they were all demons. And as humans, no matter how one tried to control them, a tragic price was unavoidable. Such a price was not something everyone could bear.
He sat cross-legged beneath the Peach of Immortality Tree and began chanting the incantation the Female Priest had once taught him in ancient times. Light spread out from behind Li Jun.
Circle after circle.
Like a vast vortex expanding outward, covering the surroundings and distorting everything around it.
At this very moment, Li Jun sat beneath the Peach of Immortality Tree, resembling Shakyamuni Buddha in ancient times, contemplating the Great Dao.
And as the incantation continued, the phantom of the Female Priest also appeared behind Li Jun.
In the end, Li Jun drew the entire Tao Mountain Island into this space, isolating this source of disaster within another void-like realm.
“Is this the universe in a sleeve from myths, or the Buddha Kingdom in one’s palm?”
Although it was borrowed power, the feeling was undeniably real. Li Jun wondered: if he became skilled enough in using it, could he use this power to go anywhere he wished?
Just as he thought this, Li Jun suddenly sensed that there was someone else in this space, watching him.
“Who?”
Li Jun turned to look behind him, where there should have been nothing but emptiness.
At this moment, another figure appeared, as if speaking to him through a transparent wall.
“It’s me.”
Li Jun looked over. It was a familiar figure.
A handsome Daoist Priest holding a horsetail whisk walked toward him step by step—it was Zhou Shentong, whom he knew. At this moment, the two faced each other as if separated by a void river of realms.
Li Jun vaguely saw hazy ghostly shadows behind Zhou Shentong, and roughly guessed the method he had used to enter.
Even so, he still asked: “How did you come in?”
Zhou Shentong knew he could not conceal it: “Since the Peach of Immortality Tree revealed itself in the human world, its power has entered the human world. You can borrow the power of the Peach Demon, so naturally, I too can invite another Peach Demon to descend upon me.”
“And I must thank you—if not for the place you pointed out, how could my Double Pupils have discovered the secrets of these ancient ghosts and gods?”
Li Jun’s Double Pupils shifted, intending to do something to Zhou Shentong.
But—
He found his strike meaningless. The other seemed to be in a different space.
He tried many methods of attack, and the phantom of the Female Priest behind him displayed even greater powers, but in the end, he could not pin the other down.
If Zhou Shentong truly wished to kill Li Jun, then Li Jun’s Blue Bird divine ability would surely unleash even more possibilities and potential. But the other merely watched, making Li Jun’s Blue Bird divine ability difficult to manifest.
Next—
Li Jun saw the scenery behind Zhou Shentong becoming clearer. The ground beneath Zhou Shentong’s feet manifested outward, and soon buildings began to emerge.
Li Jun understood—another space had been dragged into this realm.
It was unknown what land it belonged to, but on it stood two peach trees, towering on either side of the ground like enormous gate pillars.
“What are you doing?”
Zhou Shentong laughed, his Double Pupils shining as he stared back at Li Jun.
“Didn’t you want to stop me, to prevent everything here from spreading outward?”
“But I insist on linking everything here with the human world. Only this way will the ancient immortals and Buddhas return more quickly.”
Suddenly—
The figure of the Female Priest behind Li Jun became clearer, pressing close against his back. She stretched her hand through the void, extending her power toward Zhou Shentong’s side.
But Zhou Shentong’s shadow suddenly pulled away, retreating farther and farther from Li Jun, beyond his reach.
“Futile, it’s all futile!”
“The Peach Demons cannot kill each other. They are one with this place itself—unless you cut down the Peach of Immortality Tree.”
“Hahaha! That is something not even the immortals and Buddhas could achieve.”
At this moment, he looked at Li Jun and said:
“One day, you will understand what the Double Pupils signify. You and I are both parts of the ancient immortals and Buddhas.”
“Just as a Peach Demon cannot kill another Peach Demon, or sever this Peach of Immortality Tree, you too cannot kill the part of yourself that is me.”
Zhou Shentong turned and departed, stepping through the void, vanishing step by step into the heights.
Like transcendence into immortality.
Lu Gang never expected that behind this hospital there was also an air-raid shelter. Now, it had been remodeled, with many people living inside.
And he underwent medical checkups, training, and familiarization with various equipment and instruments, without a moment’s rest each day. From this, he knew matters were urgent.
Sure enough, Luo Zhen soon came to him.
“The first transcendence experiment is about to begin. Get ready!”
Lu Gang was practicing with his gun. He removed his earmuffs and asked:
“When?”
Luo Zhen: “Tomorrow.”
Lu Gang was startled: “So soon?”
He added: “I don’t mind, but the others might not be ready.”
Luo Zhen nodded: “It is rushed. Something has happened in the Kunlun Mountains—something similar to Tao Mountain Island.”
Lu Gang immediately thought of the Longevity Temple: “What happened? Is it related to the Longevity Temple?”
Luo Zhen did not intend to hide it from Lu Gang, but telling him now was not wise, since Lu Gang was about to undertake an extremely dangerous mission.
“We’ll talk when you return. I’m afraid it would distract you now. This mission is critical.”
“The outcome of your operation will determine all our future plans and arrangements.”
The next day—
At this moment, Lu Gang was leading a team of nine carefully chosen individuals, preparing to conduct the first space-transcending operation.
The location: in the deepest underground level of the air-raid shelter behind the hospital.
On a temporarily cordoned-off cement floor, various equipment and instruments had been moved in, and lamps illuminated the place brightly. At the center stood several simple sickbeds.
Lu Gang had carried out many field operations before, but never one where he had to lie on a sickbed.
His team members were chosen from the people of Tao Mountain Town—among them auxiliary police officers, doctors, drivers, and other professions. It was clear they were nervous.
Although they had undergone brief training and had been informed of the situation, what was about to happen could still greatly exceed their expectations.
Before the mission began, the team members kept glancing at Lu Gang.
Seeing his calm demeanor finally reassured them somewhat, though they could not help but ask:
“Team Leader Lu, they say it was you who rescued us.”
“Not exactly.”
“How not? We all know—you were the only one who walked out of the depths of Tao Mountain Island alive.”
“How much do you remember about Tao Mountain Island?”
“Nothing. I only remember that morning, the fog was so heavy, and then it felt like I just fell asleep.”
“But we do recognize the roads of Tao Mountain Island. I’m a local, and I know every path there.”
“Then you should treat yourself as an outsider. The roads there now—you likely wouldn’t recognize them.”
In the end, Lu Gang reminded everyone.
“Don’t overthink it. Once we go in, we’ll try to contact each other. If we can’t make contact, remember your own tasks.”
“First, do everything you can to keep yourselves safe. Second, complete your task. Third, only then try to connect with the others. If anything feels wrong, retreat immediately, understand?”
“Understood!”
“Have you all written the letters for your families?”
“They’re written.”
The brief exchange did not last long before the time arrived.
Fully armed, Lu Gang and his team lay down on their sides, as several medical staff approached them and injected a dose of medicine.
Although research on the so-called “Wood Guests Virus” was still at a very early stage, based on the information and video material Lu Gang had brought back, they already had some degree of understanding.
According to research, as long as the degree of parasitism within them was heightened, Tao Mountain Island—which had vanished from this world—would summon them into another space.
Conversely, as long as this parasitic depth was suppressed, the ordinary island residents of Tao Mountain Island would not be drawn into another world. As long as their parasitism had not reached a certain threshold, they could slowly detach from that space and return.
This was the greatest discovery Lu Gang and his team had made in recent days.
However, Lu Gang had not forgotten what Luo Zhen had told him.
“If we cannot further understand the Wood Guests Virus, whether it is you or the thousands rescued from Tao Mountain Island, all of you will inevitably be dragged back into that accursed place again. And you know very well what you would become in the end.”
How could Lu Gang not know? He still dreamed of the wall covered with countless silhouettes and outlines like ghosts—utterly horrifying.
And he also remembered what Luo Zhen had told him: that deep in the Kunlun Mountains, something similar to Tao Mountain Island had occurred.
Although Luo Zhen had not explained in detail, Lu Gang knew he was in a hurry, which meant the matter was surely not simple.
As he lay down—
Visions of the terrible disaster on Tao Mountain Island flashed constantly before his eyes, along with the survivors, and the shadow of his daughter.
Lu Gang’s eyes slowly closed, but his determination toward this mission grew ever stronger.
And in the eyes of those outside—
They all watched as mist spread from Lu Gang and his team’s bodies. The mist resembled countless tiny insects, and wherever it passed, everything vanished.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Gang and his nine men disappeared without a trace. No matter how many times one witnessed such a scene, it remained utterly beyond comprehension.
Among those present, some were seeing it for the first time, while others had only seen it in video recordings and now witnessed it firsthand.
Yet, whether their expressions varied in posture or reaction, each and every one of them was shaken to their core.
Some felt their worldview collapsing.
Some felt an overwhelming fear.
Some even began to doubt the beliefs they had held unwaveringly for decades.
“Gone.”
“What kind of power could do this?”
“Can humanity truly stand against beings with such power?”
“With such visions appearing, could it be true, what they say online—that the end of the world is coming?”
But at the same time, some were seized with an intense curiosity about the reasons behind it all.
“The transcendence experiment has begun.”
“Recording data……”
Tao Mountain Island remained shrouded in mist.
When Lu Gang opened his eyes, he found himself already standing on a street somewhere on Tao Mountain Island.
Lu Gang looked around him. He did not see anyone else, but at that moment, sounds echoed from afar.
“Dong!”
“Dong, dong, dong, dong……”
Lifting his head, even through the fog he could see flashes in the heavens above. Nine flashes in total—they were signal flares.
Then, in the distance, colorful smoke rose up like ancient beacon fires, except this smoke was rainbow-colored. Even mixed with the fog, it was bright enough to see. Those were the coordinate markers his squad had agreed upon.
This time, Lu Gang was far more experienced.
He placed a calming chewable tablet into his mouth. A chill surged through his nostrils, as if it were about to burst through the channels of his eyes.
“Cough, cough, cough……”
Tears spilled from his eyes under the pressure, but he endured it, maintaining clarity as he pressed forward through the mist toward the smoke.
Originally, Lu Gang wanted to make direct contact with the other members. But as he walked toward the smoke, something strange happened.
Moments before, the smoke had been on the left. Then, after a while, it shifted to the right. A little later, it shifted behind him.
In the end, the only way was to stop at a certain distance and use his communication device to contact them, having one member relay the message to another nearby.
Although the signals were heavily disrupted, they could just barely manage to speak.
Lu Gang inquired about each person’s situation, made some arrangements, but that was all he could do.
And so it went.
Each of them could see roughly where the others were in the distance, but never draw close. Even so, they carried out their tasks.
“Once you finish your tasks, leave immediately. Do not linger, and do not wait for my command.”
“Finally, I hope you all make it back alive.”
Afterward, Lu Gang heard their responses.
“Roger that!”
“Roger…… Roger……”
Once the others had been arranged, Lu Gang departed from the outskirts of Tao Mountain Island.
He headed straight toward the deepest part, following the sense of traversing this uncanny land from before.
The deeper he went, the more severe the sense of ruin became.
Trees grew wildly, buildings were overrun with greenery, and moisture rotted everything manmade at a rapid pace.
The town of Tao Mountain Island gradually faded, its ruins becoming the land’s defining feature, overlaid with an eerie, primal air that only made it more dangerous.
By then, Lu Gang had been walking for nearly an entire day. When he looked back, the colorful smoke had vanished.
“They must have gone back.”
But—Lu Gang had not yet completed his most important task.
He continued moving deeper, climbing over an irregular stone high wall, and advanced another layer inward—it could be said he had reached the core.
Looking closely.
This time, there were other things in the mist.
On both sides of the original street, peach trees had grown. The trees were embedded into the walls, and some had even grown directly out of buildings, tearing the structures apart.
Staring at the trunks carefully, one could faintly see human faces.
Lu Gang originally wanted to look closer at these trees, reaching out to touch one, but once he saw clearly, he instantly drew his hand back.
A horrified look appeared on Lu Gang’s face. In that instant, he understood what these things truly were.
“These aren’t trees—they’re people!”
At least, they once were people.
But even though Lu Gang did not touch the trees, the faces on them opened their eyes, meeting Lu Gang’s gaze.
Then, all the surrounding trees opened their eyes at once. Countless stares fixed sharply on Lu Gang.
In that instant, Lu Gang felt unable to move.
The world spun around him. He could no longer discern anything in his surroundings. Next, he even felt his body begin twisting, and everything around him blurred and turned upside down.
At that moment, countless thoughts arose in Lu Gang’s mind.
“Am I about to become one of those things too?”
“To turn into a tree?”
“To never move again—what kind of feeling would that be?”
Before coming, Lu Gang had prepared for the worst. But in this moment, how could he not feel fear and dread?
This was a fate more terrifying than death.
Just as Lu Gang was about to be fully transformed, becoming part of these inhuman things, a voice came from deep within Tao Mountain Island.
“Come in!”
A light shone out from the depths.
To Lu Gang, that light was like a life-saving straw, and the voice was incomparably familiar.
“Li Jun?”
As the light shone upon him, Lu Gang instantly felt a strong sense of weightlessness.
Already shaken from nearly transforming into a monster, Lu Gang cried out in panic as the weightlessness seized him.
“Ah!”
He felt himself falling endlessly out of the mist, until he came to his senses and found himself standing deep within a peach grove.
The trees here were completely different from those outside. Their tall crowns covered everything above, leaving not the slightest trace of the town. All had been swallowed by greenery and clouded mist.
The mist swirled beneath his feet, making it seem not like ground, but as though he stood upon clouds.
And when Lu Gang lifted his head—
“Rustle, rustle!”
The towering peach trees suddenly moved, swaying to open a path, drawing aside the crowns that blocked the sky.
In the instant the sky was “opened,” Lu Gang saw in the distance a hazy, towering tree-shaped radiance filling heaven and earth, and a man sat beneath it.
This was no mere tree anymore—it was a Divine Wood of myth. Naturally, the man beneath it could not be ordinary.
Lu Gang could not clearly see him, but he knew who it was.
At last, Lu Gang saw Li Jun. It proved that all his dreams had been real. He was both excited and joyous, for he had truly completed his mission.
At this very moment.
Lu Gang’s feelings were just like when Li Jun first entered this divine realm, believing that by reaching this place, he would surely find answers to unravel the mysteries.
As he climbed higher, he asked toward the figure above:
“Was it you who brought Tao Mountain Island here?”
The figure beneath the Divine Wood said: “It was me.”
Though Li Jun admitted it, Lu Gang’s emotions were exceedingly complex, to the point of disbelief.
To move such a massive island entirely out of the human world—if a man possessed such power, and applied it to the ordinary world, what sort of consequences could it cause?
Forget airplanes and cannons—even nuclear weapons, could they truly harm such a man?
Lu Gang: “How did you do it?”
In truth, what Lu Gang most wanted to ask was—
“Li Jun, are you really still human?”
Li Jun said: “I paid a price, and borrowed some power.”
Lu Gang recalled something else: “The matter in the Kunlun Mountains—was that related to you?”
The other replied: “That was the work of that Daoist.”
Lu Gang asked: “Zhou Shentong?”
Only then did the other learn his name: “Oh, so he is called Zhou Shentong.”
Lu Gang asked: “What does he intend to do?”
At this moment, the man beneath the tree-shaped radiance moved, raising his hand to point behind him.
Lu Gang continued climbing higher, as though ascending a great mountain.
And as he reached greater heights, the distant view naturally broadened. Following Li Jun’s pointing finger, he saw the layers of mist disperse, no longer obscuring his sight.
Li Jun’s finger was like that of an immortal pointing the way, parting the clouds and sweeping away the fog.
At last, Lu Gang saw the scene beyond Tao Mountain Island—an endless void.
But in that very moment—
Something was falling from the heights into the void, and something else was rising upward from below.
Lu Gang asked: “What is that?”
Li Jun said: “What sinks from above is part of the present world. You should know it better than I.”
“As for what rises from below, I too do not know.”
Here, Li Jun’s words paused.
“But that Daoist called Zhou Shentong said—all things from ancient myth will one by one return.”
Li Jun withdrew his guiding hand and said faintly.
“I think, that should be what they call the remnants of the ancient age!”
At these words, Lu Gang instantly felt a chill spread across his body, his hair standing on end.
His steps faltered. Staring at the distant scene, it was as if he no longer knew where to go.
All things from ancient myth would return?
Return as what?
As those lofty deities above? Or the immortals and Buddhas of legend?
At this moment, the figure seated beneath the Divine Wood interrupted Lu Gang’s thoughts with his words.
“This is a method of becoming a shaman. To use it requires a price—one that may be very heavy, uncontrollable, and its consequences unpredictable.”
“I once thought sealing Tao Mountain Island away would resolve the problem, but now it seems it can only delay it for a while.”
“Next, you may face problems that cannot be solved by ordinary means. Only its power will be able to play a role.”
“But before using it, you must be certain—do you truly understand it? Do you know what it may cause?”
When he finished, the trees upon the slope stirred without wind. Branches and roots shifted layer upon layer, moving an object into Lu Gang’s hand.
It was a mobile phone.
Then, Li Jun plucked two peach branches from nearby peach trees and sent them in the same manner into Lu Gang’s hand.
Holding the phone and peach branches, Lu Gang looked toward Li Jun.
“You still won’t return with me?”
Li Jun said: “I sealed Tao Mountain Island here, and that requires a price.”
At first, Lu Gang was puzzled, not understanding what this so-called price was.
As he stepped closer, he finally saw Li Jun’s appearance clearly.
The Divine Wood behind Li Jun was illusory, yet that very illusion bound him tightly. Strands of luminous roots imprisoned him like a cage.
And behind Li Jun, Lu Gang also saw a vague, indistinct ancient figure.
With just one glance—
One could feel her ancientness and vast desolation, a being that had traversed eternal cycles of time.
That ghostly divine figure—just a fleeting glance made Lu Gang feel as if his very soul were frozen, forcing a sound out of his throat.
“Who is that?”
Lu Gang’s fear overflowed uncontrollably, like humanity’s instinctive terror toward extremely dangerous beasts, etched into blood and instinct.
And at this moment, Lu Gang’s fear deepened further. From some bygone age in ancient times, such fear and reverence had already been engraved into the very depths of mortal souls.