Wang Qi then realized that, in the eyes of other Banished Immortals, his image was quite prestigious and noble.

The Dao Seed Award, Dao Artifact Award, and several other similar awards are specifically given to the most outstanding young cultivators of the Immortal Alliance. Those who win such awards are already beyond the challenge of breaking the Heavenly Barrier. Cultivators who have received any of these awards will certainly upgrade through the optimal route of "Three years of Qi Cultivation, six years of Foundation Establishment, nine years of Core Formation," and break through the Heavenly Barrier in eighteen years. Those who receive two awards have a hope of achieving Nirvana.

Within the Immortal Alliance, Wang Qi is also somewhat renowned. Now, except for very few people, no one thinks that Wang Qi will fail to break through the Heavenly Barrier.

To those Banished Immortals trapped by the Primordial Spirit Heaven Barrier, Wang Qi's appearance is undoubtedly a shot of hope. The cultivator who practiced Heavenly Song even muttered a few words: "Primordial Spirit is possible... Primordial Spirit is possible..."

In their minds, it seemed that as long as Wang Qi achieved the Primordial Spirit, the low-grade Primordial Spirit Skills suitable for Banished Immortals could be spread widely.

Upon learning of Wang Qi's identity, the attitude of the two Banished Immortals immediately did a 180-degree turn. This made Wang Qi feel a bit uncomfortable inside.

He knew full well that, fundamentally, he couldn't be considered a Banished Immortal. Zhao Qingfeng's awakening spell explained it all. He didn't carry a trace of an Immortal's essence.

But those two didn't know this. Upon seeing Wang Qi, they were tearful and full of excitement, almost to the point of crying.

The cultivator practicing Heavenly Song was named Meng Zhengyuan, while the short cultivator was named Qiu Heda; both were Banished Immortals.

Don't be fooled by their appearances of being in their twenties or thirties; in fact, they had been in Langde for over seventy years, stuck at Golden Core Perfection for more than sixty years. In their youth, they were already trapped by the law that "Banished Immortals cannot achieve Primordial Spirit" at the Heavenly Barrier.

As Banished Immortals, they naturally found it hard to make true friends. Most people viewed them with prejudice. Even if they had a few, or even a dozen or so friends, after accumulating for twenty or thirty more years, those friends would often naturally break through the Heavenly Barrier and reach the Primordial Spirit realm, their perspectives and circles changing dramatically. Even if some friends didn't forget old ties and came to chat with them, it only added pressure.

The "curse" of not being able to break the Heavenly Barrier, the gazes of others, and other burdens piled up together, creating such sensitive feelings in them. This was also why, when Wang Qi spoke slightly rudely, they exploded instantly.

However, at this moment, even Qiu Heda, with his bad temper, just bowed his head and apologized: "This... this is my own foolishness, little brother, please don't mind..."

Wang Qi stared blankly for a while, then sighed, realizing that the attitude of these Banished Immortals in Langde seemed different from those in the Divine Capital. At least Wang Qi knew they genuinely wanted to follow the Modern path and aspire to achieve Primordial Spirit.

However, Wang Qi had some doubts about this.

"Dear brothers, there is a question I'm unsure if I should ask."

Meng Zhengyuan laughed and said, "What's there to be unsure about?"

Wang Qi expressed his curiosity: "Why are you both so committed to the Modern approach?"

Qiu Heda seemed unhappy and asked, "Why do you ask that?"

"I know it's rude to say this, but I just want to ask." Wang Qi said, "For Banished Immortals, the Modern path doesn't have much advantage over the Ancient Method. Banished Immortals have traits of immortals and can easily become immortals again, achieving longevity. In terms of power, if Banished Immortals practice the Ancient Method, they can easily break the shackles of this world, growing stronger than the Carefree."

Wang Qi was stating not the actual situation, but merely the commonly known "common knowledge."

For Banished Immortals, these words were beyond impolite, even extremely rude. However, Meng Zhengyuan just smiled and said, "I really don't know the specific reason."

"Don't know?"

"Little brother, you must be confused in your heart too? After all, we are the same kind of people." Meng Zhengyuan said with a bitter smile, "Before we were born, we carried causes and effects we might not want to bear, destined to become someone we might not want to be—even if that person is another version of ourselves."

"I don't care about the Modern method, the Ancient Method, or the struggle over Daoist Inheritances. I just know that the Modern method gives me a chance, a chance to escape the fate set after birth."

Qiu Heda also nodded, "That's exactly it."

Since the two sides were not that familiar, they didn't chat much longer. Still, the two Banished Immortals exchanged Immortal Record numbers with Wang Qi, hoping to contact again. Wang Qi, not knowing what he was thinking, didn't refuse.

After watching the two of them leave, Wang Qi sighed, "I didn't expect, they turned out to be good guys."

They weren't deeply scheming, with emotions clearly shown, not particularly bold but not stingy either. Overall, they turned out to be people with a decent personality.

——Come to think of it, the personality of Banished Immortals is influenced by remnants of memory, right? That's why Zhao Qingfeng and the others have that kind of transcendent, indifferent demeanor. Why do these two have such personalities?

Wang Qi couldn't understand despite thinking hard, about to put away the Moonset Glaze Sword. But suddenly, the essence of Moonset Glaze surged violently back into Wang Qi's body.

——Damn, I was careless!

Wang Qi did leave a backdoor in the Moonset Glaze sword. However, this backdoor can also be seen as a port for mutual mana interaction. If Moonset Glaze is skilled enough, she could naturally reverse-control Wang Qi through this port.

She didn't previously know the intricacies of Wang Qi's cultivation method, but after cooperating so many times, Moonset Glaze had long figured out the way inside.

Although Wang Qi's mana was absolutely dominant over Moonset Glaze in terms of "attributes", the quality and quantity of Moonset Glaze's essence demon energy far exceeded Wang Qi's mana. Wang Qi resisted for just a few seconds before Moonset Glaze's power flowed through his entire body.

——What's going on...could it be...

Wang Qi smiled wryly. Moonset Glaze must have heard them refer to him as a "Banished Immortal" earlier and thought she was deceived, hence she swiftly turned hostile. However, Moonset Glaze's restraint was swift to arrive and swift to depart. Soon, the essence returned to the Moonset Glaze sword. Meanwhile, Moonset Glaze transmitted: "Fortunately, it wasn't..."

"Earlier, didn't I use an Enlightenment Skill on myself right in front of you? Why?" Wang Qi laughed in exasperation.

"That was your magic artifact. How could I know whether you tampered with it?" Moonset Glaze's voice was unequivocal, leaving no room for doubt: "The Holy Emperor said, regarding parasitic beasts, better to mistakenly kill than to let go!"

"That reputation of being a 'Banished Immortal' was a misdiagnosis," Wang Qi quickly explained.

Moonset Glaze said: "Indeed, you don't have a trace of parasitic beast scent on you."

"By the way, Moonset Glaze, I'd like to ask you a question." Wang Qi continued, "Have your Dragon Clan thought about something similar? Regarding the personality issue of Banished Immortals..."

After hearing Wang Qi's question, Moonset Glaze replied: "You are wondering, since the personality of parasitic beasts is influenced by their former selves, the Undying Beasts, then decent-natured parasitic beasts should have Undying Beasts with rather good personalities after re-metamorphosis?"

"That's roughly the idea."

"What is this? Sympathy for former comrades because one was wrongly accused? Don't be silly," Moonset Glaze mercilessly said, "The personality parasitic beasts exhibit does indeed have a high consistency with the original Undying Beast's personality, but it's not absolute. The key lies in the attitude they have towards their original minds after awakening."

Wang Qi frowned: "Totally unaccepted?"

"Total non-acceptance indicates the Undying Beast's mind isn't complete and hasn't contemplated 'I am myself'," Moonset Glaze explained, "The scariest thing is indifference."

"Indifference?"

"Neither particularly approving nor particularly denying," Moonset Glaze said, "After awakening, parasitic beasts won't specifically deny their current life's name. They might say hello to this life's friends if interested, or eliminate those they dislike if they have time. However, these awakened Undying Beasts won't go out of their way to do these things. They simply do them casually, if the circumstances allow, or not at all if they don't. Their behavior is purely beast-like."

"Even destroying this life's loved ones?"

"Who knows? Maybe they'll save them inadvertently, or crush them casually. What's certain is that they wouldn't care much,"

Wang Qi further asked: "Then, is the apparent personality of those Banished Immortals an independent entity, or merely a facade of the original personality?"

Moonset Glaze thought for a moment, then asked: "Do you know a bird called the cuckoo?"

Cuckoos, ominous birds that lay their eggs in others' nests, harm the host's offspring, and destroy their kin. Cuckoos display a unique "nest parasitism" behavior. They lay eggs in the nests of other birds when the hosts are absent, letting the hosts incubate their offspring. To avoid detection due to increased number of eggs, they often throw out several of the host's eggs. The cuckoo fledgling will subsequently push out the remaining eggs and hatchlings from the nest, causing death from falls to gain more food.

"If the host's nest is like the original personality, then the parasitic beast's mind can be considered the cuckoo," Moonset Glaze said, "The cuckoo is not like us, born with innate spiritual awakening, thus doesn't know it's not the offspring of its 'foster parents', but merely a parasitic entity. Upon maturity, it cares even less about this fact."

Wang Qi immediately understood Moonset Glaze's implication: "But, the cuckoo is indeed part of that 'nest'..."

"Perhaps the fighting spirit of the parasitic beast is actually its original Undying Beast's obsession not to die," Moonset Glaze continued, "It's difficult to say."

Which means, even if the "Immortal" part is stripped away, the Banished Immortals might not preserve their "current self."

After all, in their selfhood, the Immortal part potentially exists too.

While selfhood is not a static entity, individuals like Wang Qi, daring enough to alter their self-awareness, are quite rare.

Moonset Glaze wasn't aware that, when Wang Qi asked this question, he was also thinking about himself.

"Then, what does this 'I' count as now?"