Chapter Six: Test Subject No. 000—The Immortal

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【Experimental Subject Profile:】
【Subject 000 — Immortal】
【Target: Xia Ye】
【Gender: Male】
【Age: 18】
【Experiment Stage: Not Initiated】
【Experimental Hypotheses:】
【Hypothesis I: What is an Immortal?】
【Those who are immortal, possess heaven-reaching power, transcend the heavens and earth, and are free and unfettered—only they are Immortals.】
【Hypothesis II: What is Immortality?】
【The body does not perish, the soul is eternal, the primordial energy remains condensed and undissipated, and one has no enemy under heaven capable of inflicting harm—only this is immortality.】
【Hypothesis III: What is Heaven-Reaching?】
【Moving mountains and filling seas does not count; overturning clouds and rain does not count; holding the sun and moon does not count; stirring the stars does not count. "Reaching" means to permeate, "Heaven" means "Nature." One who understands the essence through the resonance between man and nature—only this is Heaven-Reaching.】
【Hypothesis IV: What is Transcendence?】
【Unbound by Heaven, untethered by Earth, laws cannot touch the body, breaking the Way to walk the Way—only this is Transcendence.】
【Hypothesis V: What is Freedom?】
【My body is free, my heart is free, my spirit is free, my Way is free—only this is Freedom.】
【Hypothesis VI: How does a human become an Immortal?】
【The culmination of the human way is the beginning of the immortal way; one must first be human before ascending to immortality.】
【Hypothesis VII: What is the culmination of the human way?】
【Forging flesh and bone, condensing the true spirit, experiencing the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death, feeling the seven emotions and six desires, refining primordial energy, and smelting the myriad ways of the mortal world into one to become a "True Human"—only this is the culmination of the human way.】

As can be seen, this document was created in March 2005, when Xia Ye was exactly eighteen. He posed these seven questions to himself, shortly after which he thanked his master, returned to secular life, and embarked on his travels.

Now that he has returned from his travels, fully prepared, his "Ascension Experiment" is ready to begin. Xiao Zizai, as his first experimental subject, is to assist him in exploring the secret of "Perfecting the Flesh"!

"Heh..."

Looking at the questions and answers from five years ago on the computer screen, Xia Ye smiled slightly. These answers have not changed to this day. Having traveled the world and returned, his goal remains the same: "To become an Immortal!"

To others, this may seem ethereal and illusory, but in his eyes, it is not impossible. After all, he perceives this world as being composed of countless subtle "mystical elements," and as for "Immortal"...

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...what difference is there!

With this thought, Xia Ye raised his hands and began typing on the keyboard, changing the "Age" column to "23," and proceeded to edit:
【Experiment Stage: Human】
【Experiment I: Flesh】
【Experiment I Progress: Observation Stage】
【Experimental Records:】
【Record I: The flesh experiment has officially begun. The observation subject "Subject 001 — Asura" has entered the experimental process. The goal of this stage is to enhance the subject's physical strength as much as possible while ensuring their safety, and to collect sufficient experimental data.】

After editing, Xia Ye saved and closed the document, then folded his hands and fell into thought.

Since Xiao Zizai has been secured, the next step is to help him unleash his killing intent to trade for growth and data. Since neither he nor Xiao Zizai would wantonly slaughter the innocent, then there is only...

Xia Ye smiled slightly, evidently having already arrived at a plan.

...
...

Three days later.

Outside the cabin, Xiao Zizai sat cross-legged under a tree, clearing his mind.

After three days of recuperation, his body had fully absorbed the medicinal power, the two harmonizing as one, and he would no longer suffer from exhaustion.

At the same time, he discovered that his physical body, even without transforming, was significantly stronger than before—much like Xia Ye's "Living Dead," perhaps even stronger.

Even when he activated his red eyes in his normal state, he no longer experienced the "chaos of consciousness" that he had in the past. With his greatest concern resolved, he felt much lighter.

At this moment, he was practicing his internal energy. In the years since leaving Lingyin Temple, he had barely practiced for fear of "relapsing," and his cultivation had long since stagnated.

Now that Xia Ye had told him that becoming an "Asura" required corresponding strength, he naturally would not rely solely on the other's pills; they were, after all, unknown external objects. He had to rely on himself.

Just then...
Creak—

The sound of the door opening echoed. Xiao Zizai opened his eyes to see Xia Ye walking out of the cabin with a backpack, beckoning to him:
"Old Xiao, time to go!"

"Alright."

He nodded and stood up, stretched his body, and adjusted his glasses.

Xia Ye had told him last night that they would be going out for a "hearty meal" today. A flash of red light flickered in his eyes, and he couldn't help but grin, showing his excitement.

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Soon, Xia Ye locked the door, hung an "Out" sign, walked out of the mountains with Xiao Zizai, entered the city, hailed a taxi on the main road, and headed toward the train station.

"The train station? Are we going out of town?" Xiao Zizai raised an eyebrow and asked.

"That's right. We are heading to the Miao frontier in Guangxi. I know of a secretive faction there where every single one of them is a beast; they will definitely be enough to satisfy your hunger!" Xia Ye replied with a smile.

About half an hour later, the car arrived at the train station. The two bought the earliest available sleeper tickets at the ticket office and walked into the nearby supermarket.

Since the journey from Hangzhou to Guangxi was long, taking at least a day and a half, and the food on the train was poor, they bought some snacks and instant noodles to prepare.

In the waiting room...

"Old Xiao, how do you feel today? Any discomfort?" Having nothing to do, Xia Ye asked casually, also as a way to follow up on the experimental data.

"Hmm... I felt clear-headed as soon as I woke up this morning. The lingering sense of weakness is gone, and even the speed of my energy circulation is faster than before. It couldn't be better." Xiao Zizai thought for a moment before answering.

"Good, then there's no problem..."

Xia Ye nodded.

"This means you have completely absorbed the medicinal power, and your body has completed its transformation, just as I predicted."

"Now, what you need to do next is to achieve further metamorphosis through combat and slaughter. When your physical growth reaches a bottleneck, I will provide you with the next stage of pills."

The initial experiment had been a success, which was undoubtedly great news for Xia Ye. It proved his theory was correct, and he only needed to continue...

However, he did not relax, remaining vigilantly observant of Xiao Zizai. In his view, every detail and every subtle change in this process was crucial; a difference of a hair's breadth could have a massive impact!

Just like that, amidst constant questioning and observation, over an hour passed. The train pulled into the station, and the two joined the queue to board, eventually finding their seats...

For convenience, Xia Ye had purchased a high-end soft sleeper with a private room, ensuring they would not be disturbed and that they could communicate without worrying about being overheard by ordinary people.

However, to their surprise, no sooner had they sat down...

Bang!

The door to the room was suddenly kicked open. A large man stormed in, pointing at them and cursing: "This is my room! What are you two doing here!"

He looked exceptionally furious.

Without waiting for them to react, he raised his hand and grabbed at Xia Ye's chest. Judging by his posture, he was intent on attacking directly. Both men were stunned for a moment...

The next second...

Thump!