novelraw Chapter 1050: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (58)
Chapter 1050: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (58)
The ground trembled slightly, and then a crack about ten meters long and three meters wide opened up.
From within the crack, a massive metal frame slowly rose — when fully revealed, Jiang Zuo estimated it to be around twenty meters tall.
But the frame wasn’t empty.
It looked more like an entrance — strange energies constantly surged from the four corners of the frame, warping the space inside.
“Should I go in?” Jiang Zuo asked instinctively.
Gaia nodded.
Having received Gaia’s confirmation, Jiang Zuo swallowed hard — the transaction had begun, and he was about to witness the Gaia unit production line — but the timer hadn’t started yet.
He reached into the frame and found that his hand didn’t pass through. Instead, part of it vanished — clearly, it was a warped passageway.
While amazed by this technology, Jiang Zuo grew increasingly curious about Gaia’s manufacturing process. The tour could last up to 4,800 seconds, which was 80 minutes — over an hour.
But that would cost him all his purchase points — definitely not cost-effective.Jiang Zuo had only purchased the “item,” and once the tour officially began, he had the right to stop at any time. He wasn’t sure whether this was the right choice, but without a doubt, he was about to glimpse something classified.
The Gaia unit production line... by all appearances, this had to be one of the core facilities of this place.
Jiang Zuo stepped into the frame without hesitation!
Once his body passed fully through, what greeted him wasn’t the long tunnel or grand sci-fi base he’d imagined.
Instead, it was a pure white space — so white that he couldn’t see its edges or judge its size.
Gaia followed him in.
“What is this place?” Jiang Zuo frowned, disappointed by the anticlimax.
【Transit Hub】
Gaia gave a short answer, walked past Jiang Zuo, and raised her hand. Suddenly, the floor beneath her cracked open, and a white pillar slowly rose from below.
It appeared to be some sort of control device.
She placed her hand above it, and soon after, a beam of light shot out from the pillar. The space ahead split open, forming a strange “door” of light.
Jiang Zuo smiled bitterly — so he wouldn’t be able to sneak a look around before entering the production line. Any hope of catching other details on the way was clearly wishful thinking — no chance of loopholes being left behind.
Behind that light gate was likely the workshop where the production line was located.
Gaia moved toward it first. Jiang Zuo, trying to copy her, placed his hand on the white pillar — but nothing happened.
Suddenly, Gaia turned around.
“This thing feels kind of nice to the touch, ahaha…” Jiang Zuo laughed awkwardly. “So, inside is the production workshop?”
Gaia didn’t respond. She just stared at him silently.
Under Gaia’s gaze, Jiang Zuo nervously walked toward the light gate and passed through.
Gaia’s manufacturing workshop.
A massive pool!
The space was not pure white this time, but it lacked the complex, high-tech machinery Jiang Zuo had imagined.
Everything was clean and minimalist — like a room stripped of all unnecessary items by a devout minimalist.
At the center of the circular space was a pool filled with colorful, strange liquid. Around its edge were several white cylindrical pillars — similar to the one Jiang Zuo had touched earlier.
He stepped forward instinctively, and a glowing platform appeared beneath his feet, gently transporting him to the edge of the pool.
Though the place didn’t seem “technological” at first glance, Jiang Zuo was sure it was filled with technology far beyond human understanding.
For example, the level of cleanliness.
From the moment he entered, he felt his body become exceptionally clean — as if it had been polished by flowing water for decades — yet he couldn’t tell when or how he’d been cleaned.
He also realized he wasn’t breathing oxygen in the usual way — his cultivation-enhanced senses told him that oxygen was bypassing his respiratory system, directly permeating into his body to carry out gas exchange.
Breathing still occurred, but the delivery mechanism had quietly changed.
Then, a palm-sized circular light screen suddenly appeared beside him — displaying Arabic numerals starting from 1 and counting upward: 1, 2, 3, 4...
His viewing time had officially started. There were no tricks — no fast-forward or slowdown — just a fair, steady ticking of seconds.
But… Jiang Zuo found himself utterly lost about where to begin!
Time kept ticking!
Jiang Zuo… think, think… How to approach this? Is it really just for viewing? Calm down!
Observation… the content and definition of observation!
Yes! Got it!
Jiang Zuo suddenly turned to Gaia, racing against time, pushing aside all hesitation: “Since this is a tour, then there should be a demonstration, right? I want to see this workshop in action! Also, I want you to explain every step to me!”
He stared at Gaia anxiously, terrified she would reject him.
Time kept ticking — every second precious.
【Understood】
Finally, Gaia spoke the words that thrilled Jiang Zuo — she had actually agreed!
Without wasting any time, Gaia walked over to one of the white pillars and placed her hand on it again.
Above the giant, colorful pool, numerous blue light screens appeared.
This time, however, the text on the screens was entirely foreign to Jiang Zuo — he couldn’t understand a single symbol. All he could recognize was a structural diagram of a body — presumably Gaia’s own.
Unfortunately, all the annotations on the diagram were still in that incomprehensible language or symbolic system.
“Can you change the text into something I can understand? Like the purchase menu from before?” Jiang Zuo asked instinctively.
【Request denied. Current purchase power insufficient for this service.】
Sorry for being poor, alright…
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Zuo focused his vision on the screens. As a cultivator, he had excellent memory. Even if he couldn’t understand it now, he might be able to decipher it later.
Any language can be translated — if you can just find a way in.
【Uploading unit blueprint... Writing standard parameters... Activating Universal Material Pool production mode... Activation successful... Production time: 7,943 seconds】
This time had already exceeded the amount Jiang Zuo was allowed to observe—meaning he would never witness the completion of the machine body. Naturally, that also meant he wouldn’t see the subsequent debugging process either.
However, the content displayed on those light screens had already been imprinted in Jiang Zuo’s memory—not for understanding, but simply to store them like photographs, as pure visuals.
Not every cultivator gains intelligence, but they all improve their brain capabilities—every cultivator who achieves something possesses a mind like a supercomputer.
As he absorbed this data, Jiang Zuo kept staring at the pool… Gaia had referred to it as the "Universal Material Pool," hadn’t she?
Under his gaze, the colorful liquid in the Universal Material Pool began to stir… Soon, the rippling liquid started to transform.
First, it gathered and stretched into slender forms, then solidified into shapes resembling mechanical arms—finally turning completely solid. Yes, it had transformed from liquid into solid.
Four mechanical arms in total… but they had no base, emerging directly from the Universal Material Pool as if one with it. Still, Jiang Zuo was oddly unsurprised by the sight of these slender mechanical arms.
"Are these… printing arms?" Jiang Zuo asked in shock.
【Confirmed】
Perhaps due to the nature of the guided tour, Gaia continued speaking:
【The method used to construct the outer frame of the machine body is 3D printing mode】
"It really is printing..." Jiang Zuo murmured.
From the nozzles of the mechanical arms, multicolored filaments continuously extruded, initiating the printing process. Though at first, only a few strands emerged, the main structure would likely become visible with time. Still…
"What’s the material?" Jiang Zuo frowned. "Is it the liquid from this pool… the Universal Material?"
【Confirmed】 Gaia nodded.
【Universal Material has particle decomposition and reassembly functions. It can become any material and serves as an 'omni-element.'】
Particle decomposition and reassembly… usable as any material… Jiang Zuo instantly understood the value of such a substance. He couldn’t help but tremble as he asked, “So… it can create both organic and inorganic matter?”
【Confirmed】
“What about the stability after reassembly?” Jiang Zuo asked urgently. “Does it have a time limit or not? If, say, Universal Material is turned into food, is it actually food?”
【Confirmed】
“That’s impossible!” Jiang Zuo exclaimed. “That completely violates the law of energy conservation! Entropy shouldn’t be reversible! Can it really turn into ice and then become fire? Fire is a combustion state, completely different from solid ice!”
【It can】
Gaia’s reply was, as always, concise and direct.
But Jiang Zuo’s worldview was completely shattered by the capabilities of Universal Material… If humanity could get its hands on this, just how far could science and technology progress?
Suddenly, Jiang Zuo’s heart skipped a beat as a terrifying thought struck him. “Could it be… that everything in this Treasure Vault—including all the treasures—is made of Universal Material?”
That would explain how so many rare resources and materials with vastly different environmental needs could all exist in the same jungle.
But Gaia gave no reply. Even so, Jiang Zuo was nearly certain of his theory.
He stared blankly at the mechanical arms in operation. The arms were now printing what looked like skeletal structures.
The faint sound of printing was pleasant to the ear, and the colorful Universal Material threads were almost mesmerizing… Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but wonder: could all the miracles of this place be traced back to the Universal Material?
Was it because someone had mastered this incredible material that such a massive technological leap had occurred?
Was Universal Material a naturally occurring substance—or one artificially created?
Time continued ticking. Jiang Zuo glanced at the time-tracking light screen beside him… Over 600 seconds had passed, and he had already wasted most of it just being in shock.
He suddenly jolted awake and quickly made a request: “These pillars are control terminals, right? Can I try touching them? Doesn’t a tour include hands-on interaction?”
【Confirmed】
Gaia nodded and stepped aside, allowing Jiang Zuo to approach the pillar.
“So generous,” Jiang Zuo muttered.
【Subscriber’s knowledge level poses no risk of theft. Experimental interaction permitted.】
Wow… completely underestimated… But I’m not giving up just yet!!
Jiang Zuo took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped up to the pillar, placing his palm over it.
Instantly, it felt like a flood of information surged into his mind—and appeared directly in his vision.
It was a complex interface made up of nearly a hundred light screens—seemingly controllable by thought alone.
But…
But…
Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but smile bitterly, his expression full of frustration.
But… I’m a total academic failure, sorry!!
I can’t understand any of this!!
"It’s… it’s not that hard to understand, haha," Jiang Zuo said with an awkward smile, glancing at Gaia’s expressionless face before refocusing on the screens.
Well, you did say it was interactive, so…
Screw it! I’ll just tap everything!!
But no matter what Jiang Zuo tapped, the blue interface showed no response. No sub-options appeared, no confirmation/denial prompts—nothing.
It felt like he was being blocked at every turn. Jiang Zuo could almost see a thousand red X’s before his eyes—"Insufficient Permission" stamped all over.
The only thing he could trigger was a repeat of the initial process—a second set of mechanical arms emerged from the Universal Material Pool and began printing another machine body.
Jiang Zuo gave a helpless smile… Gaia really hadn’t left him a single loophole.
He sighed in disappointment, thinking… maybe it’s time to end the tour now. At least then he wouldn’t burn through all of his purchase power.
The data was already in his brain… even if he couldn’t decode it, maybe the world’s top linguists could find a breakthrough someday?
With that thought, Jiang Zuo seriously considered quitting.
But just then, his wandering thoughts caused him to accidentally tap a blue screen—one that opened!
Suddenly, a new screen popped up before him—showing a completely different set of visuals.
Or rather, a video.
He saw a man in ancient robes.
Dressed in flowing white, wielding a three-foot longsword, the man wore a slightly bitter expression, his brows furrowed in anger… Even through a recording, his gaze sent chills down Jiang Zuo’s spine—as if he had pierced through time and space to meet Jiang Zuo’s eyes directly!
“Our countless predecessors gave everything in the search for Penglai, only to find it was a dead land like this… What a joke.”
“Since this place isn't the Immortal Path to the heavens, then what's the point of keeping it!”
“If there's no road to immortality in this world—then I'll carve one out with my own hands!”
The man approached with his sword, tens of thousands of sword lights soaring into the sky from his body. And behind him, Jiang Zuo saw countless shattered and destroyed Gaias...
The footage suddenly shook violently, and that three-foot green sword in the man's hand flashed right past Jiang Zuo's eyes!
Jiang Zuo shivered—could this footage be a memory recording from one of the Gaias?
(End of Chapter)