Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 501 - 255: The Mortal World Should Have Edison

Wang Qi and Chen Youjia walked side by side on the streets of Divine Capital. The sky had darkened, and there were fewer pedestrians than usual. There were no streetlights here, and the shops along the street hung up lanterns, but they weren't bright. Under the dim yellow light, Wang Qi looked around curiously.

He didn't go out often and mostly pondered over problems while walking. Only when he was out with Chen Youjia this time did he manage to truly take in what Divine Capital looked like at night.

"Normally there are lighting talismans, so I didn't feel it, but today it feels out of place," Wang Qi sighed. "It's really dark."

Although their enhanced optic nerves increased their light sensitivity, allowing cultivators to see at night, the sensation of light and darkness was still present.

Chen Youjia glanced at him sideways, "Where do you think this is? Xinyue or Leiyang Immortal City?"

The economy of the Immortal Dao and the Mortal World was disconnected. Most items produced in the secular world were useless to cultivators; and the high-precision products made by the big industries of Immortal Dao were basically unusable by mortals.

"The legal concepts reflected in the Immortal Alliance Law are close to the modern laws of Earth. Technology is also approaching the Information Age, with some places even surpassing it, but the Great Lian of the Imperial Dynasty is still in feudal society... oh, because the Immortal Alliance is taking over some of the administrative duties, there is a bit of constitutional monarchy," Wang Qi pondered privately.

Chen Youjia asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Some interesting things."

"What?"

"Sorry, your interruption made me forget."

"I always feel like you're spinning some bizarre ideas again," Chen Youjia said discontentedly. "When we studied the Big Number Law together last time, you didn't give it your full effort, did you?"

"Cough cough," Wang Qi averted his gaze. "Not really."

"How long did you and Junior Sister Bao take to complete it?"

Wang Qi felt a bit embarrassed, "Ha... Speaking of which, I think Junior Sister Bao is even older than you."

"Entry time."

As usual, the two chatted casually about various things while walking towards the west of the city.

West Yao Gate was a hub for shops in Divine Capital, with plenty of delicious food. When they arrived, Wang Qi asked, "What do you feel like eating today?"

Chen Youjia closed her eyes and took a sniff. Then, her brows furrowed as if she was making a life-or-death decision. Just as the food in the air tempted Wang Qi, Chen Youjia pointed in a direction, "This place."

This time, Chen Youjia chose a noodle stall that specialized in mutton shumai. The shumai had thin skin and were generously filled; the filling was rich but not gamey. The boss was honest and skilled. The filling was not finely mashed, and there were even some juicy chunks of meat among it.

After accompanying it with a bowl of mutton soup, Wang Qi admitted from the bottom of his heart that Chen Youjia had chosen a good spot.

Across the dim light of an oil lamp, Chen Youjia's porcelain-like skin appeared even more hazy. Unfortunately, the girl didn't find it appealing and felt the oil lamp was too dim and smoky, affecting her appetite halfway through and extinguished the oil lamp with a palm wind, then released a lighting spell.

While Wang Qi felt it was a pity, he recalled a thought that had just flashed by. His Spiritual Sense swept around. Among the people nearby, many like Chen Youjia extinguished their oil lamps and switched to lighting talismans. Divine Capital was mixed with Immortals and Mortals; there were quite a few cultivators. Here, only a few mortals never made such a "borrowing light" gesture, but instead shrank back, appearing somewhat embarrassed.

Wang Qi picked up a shumai with his chopsticks and rolled it in fragrant vinegar while quietly dedicating a thread in his mind to ponder a matter he had just noticed.

"When I was a kid, I always thought this broken place was just like ancient times, so I never thought using oil lamps was inconvenient. After leaving the village, I went straight to Xinyue Immortal City, where everything I saw was the grandeur of Immortals. In recent years since coming to Divine Capital, I have been busy studying and hadn't really noticed such things," Wang Qi thought to himself in the Guardian Room, "What is this world's understanding of technology?"

"Retrieve, keyword, technology."

The entire Guardian Room began to rearrange and recombine, then several books were automatically delivered into his hands.

Wang Qi flipped through the books, nodding as he read, "I see, even if both are scientific civilizations, the gap between two world civilizations can be this vast."

The key lies in "technology."

The physical rules of this world greatly support the existence of the Technology Black Box, allowing many technologies to be easily invented. However, most of these technologies have not been transformed into productivity.

In the past, medicinal materials relied on wild collection, and a cultivator only needed to gather enough materials to refine one furnace of elixirs, enough for their own use without considering the cost. Once their cultivation broke through, they naturally sought new alchemy formulas, collecting or seizing new materials to refine new elixirs. If there were no suitable elixirs available, they would develop their own.

Regarding reducing necessary labor time—sorry, rather than waste time and materials pondering how to simplify the refinement of an elixir, it's better to develop a more incredible elixir altogether.

It was only in the End of Law Era, when spiritual energy was scarce and cultivation couldn't proceed without elixirs, that cultivators invented the mass production of Peiyuan Pills and Fasting Pills.

Moreover, much of the technology was embodied in Divine Skills, essentially combat power.

Additionally, the dual economy of Immortal and Mortal is a feature. Spiritual energy causes energy fluctuations, complex machinery is easily damaged, and the mechanicals in the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion are powered by spiritual power, difficult for mortals to control. Even if the Immortal Alliance lowers the price of various Immortal Dao civilization products, mortals hardly benefit.

"Although on Earth, those etched in the annals of history are mostly scientists, what actually propels the advancement of science turns out to be 'technology.'"

"Merchants pursue profit, the so-called nature of capitalists. It is because they recognize that science and technology are the primary productive forces capable of generating substantial profits that huge resources are invested in research and development."

"Although 'science' is the basis for 'technology,' conversely, it can also be said that 'technology' has achieved today's 'science.'"

"If viewed from the angle of the history of science, the development of science is the pursuit of truth by several wise individuals. However, from the perspective of the evolution of civilization, humanity's 'history of science' is simultaneously a 'history of technological development' chasing 'technology.'"

Wang Qi gently brushed past a popular science book in the library titled "The Essence of Technology," recalling the inventor and businessman from his previous life, Thomas Edison, who held two thousand invention patents.

Theoretically, this shrewd businessman had not contributed much. However, in terms of promoting scientific progress, he might exceed most scientists.

Wang Qi finally realized that he had grasped a blind spot.

"Here, in this world, longevity is the ultimate interest, the ultimate goal. For longevity, 'cultivation technology' is needed; for self-defense, 'combat technology' is needed."

"The significance of mortals lies only in producing more cultivators. Their productivity means nothing to the Immortal Dao. Even the Immortal Alliance only promoted improved fertilizer, agricultural technology, and medical technology."

"But..."

Wang Qi's heartbeat subtly quickened. The developmental trajectory of the Human Clan Immortal Dao was highly tortuous, initially contending with demon beasts and later infighting, for tens of thousands of years, combat skills always held higher status than agriculture or smithing. But from the perspective of the Human Dao... Human Dao...

"Could this truly be a path?" Wang Qi suddenly said, seemingly out of the blue.

Chen Youjia asked, "What?"

Wang Qi looked at the dark slums and spoke softly, "Nothing much, I just suddenly felt that this world should have a fellow named Edison."

There should be an Edison in the mortal world. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)