Since the inception of memory, the world has been colorful.

Father in brown linen. Mother in blue clothes. Little sister who loves wearing red.

Golden rapeseed fields. Yellow earth. Black dog. White smoke. Green leaves. Rice with a hint of yellow.

Good days. Very good days.

He truly did not care. Really. Since his birth, he harbored a block of ice in his heart. He could laugh, could cry, could feel joy, could feel displeasure. But these emotions never truly "deepened."

They seemed like disguises, never coming from the heart.

However, even if it was just a warm stream flowing over the ice, he liked it very much.

Although this "liking" couldn't be considered heartfelt either, it was just a bit deeper than "something."

Then...

Then...

Then was those bones protecting one's own body. Seemed like father and mother.

The round head rolling on the ground. Seemed like sister.

— Seemed...

— Seemed...

— Seemed, it should be like this.

— Then I, seemed... seemed should...

"Take revenge?"

Unfamiliar term, unfamiliar emotion.

But for the first time, it came from the heart!

At that moment, the flowing "stream" was boiled by anger, corroding the ice at the heart's base!

This is the origin of the Immortal Alliance's most unique "empirical life being," Banished Immortal Gou Dabao.

Gou Dabao, this name sounds rustic, but he never once wanted to change it to a Daoist title. For many cultivators dissatisfied with their original names, changing to a Daoist title is quite normal. But he doesn't.

This name is his rebellion. His rebellion against "himself."

Indeed, "himself."

Actually, his initial target of rebellion did not include "himself." It was only after witnessing the current peaceful mortal world that he developed hatred for the entire Ancient Method, and later upon realizing he was an ancestor of Ancient Method in a past life, he began hating himself too. That's all. He also knew that his past life might not necessarily be related to Ancient Method Practitioners on this planet; it was just a meaningless diversion of anger.

But now, his personality is that of an unreasonable, stubborn rogue. I will be angry; I hate you, what are you going to do about it?

Stubbornness, this is his personality in this life!

Because he hated that residual soul within his body, he willingly joined Yangshen Pavilion, willingly became a research subject for the Immortal Alliance's secret project.

It's just... for the Banished Immortal, this kind of "resistance" seems almost meaningless. Even the will to "resist" might not come from his heart.

Especially in the broad environment of the Modern Immortal Path, his resistance was exceptionally difficult.

In this environment with only heterodox methods.

The blessings of his past life allowed him to discern what was the righteous skill leading to a broad avenue, and what was merely heterodox law gates or minor techniques. He would instinctively reject those deviant off-path techniques.

Heavenly Entropy Technique... what nonsense?

Yao Ding Calculating Scripture... mechanical to the extreme, rigid to the extreme, is it for zombies or for stones?

Heavenly Song... utterly devoid of spirituality!

Star Cycle... bah! Are stars like that?

Heavenly Calculation Atlas... interesting but just so.

Many times, he felt as if his rationality completely didn't belong to him. Within his mind, there was a little person commenting on the cultivation techniques laid before him.

No future.

No future.

No future!

That little person seemed to govern his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Whatever the little person disliked, he disliked as well.

For him, cultivating those Modern Cultivation Methods was like ****.

****... can you do it?

Of course it can be done. If there's a mind, even excrement can be eaten.

But that urge to vomit, that instinct of throat tightening, cannot be overcome. That is the body's instinctive rejection of harmful things entering the body.

Human rationality can overcome these instincts, but it cannot eliminate them.

And for Gou Dabao, his "instinct" is extremely powerful. Even if he forcefully ingests those "excrement-like cultivation techniques," his "instinct" would force him to vomit them out.

Harmful.

Harmful.

Harmful!

Gou Dabao's will was completely unable to overcome his "instinct."

A cultivator from Yangshen Pavilion once analyzed that Gou Dabao's "Yin Consciousness" might be the consciousness of a former immortal. The consciousness of the immortal did not dwell in slumber; it merely could not function due to incompleteness. Nevertheless, it was still the consciousness of an immortal. Even as fragments of the mind, its total exceeds what a mortal could possibly possess.

If Gou Dabao's entire mind was compared to an iceberg, then the consciousness of this resistor would be just a thin layer of soil on the iceberg.

Again and again, he cultivated, approached the Heavenly Barrier, hovered repeatedly, unable to find the way ahead, and approached Alchemy Shattering Infant Formation time after time.

Then, wasted effort time and again.

This was his daily routine.

Then, on this day, this special "Little White Mouse" awoke once more.

The ceiling... this time changed to red...

As if by instinct, he first noticed the color in front of him.

Gou Dabao awoke, stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then turned over and got out of bed, walking to the door. His eyes, seemingly inorganic, made people suspect whether he was still not fully awake.

Actually, he was just spiritless.

He first went to the kitchen to collect today's breakfast. Two buns made of fine white flour, a small dish of pickles from Nanhu, a bowl of porridge with shrimp shells and mushrooms, sprinkled with sesame oil and lard.

He ate mouthful after mouthful.

Honestly, life here wasn't bad. There was food and clothing, and those Modern Cultivators never materially deprived him as their experimental subject. Those Modern Cultivators he interacted with were always exceptionally cautious around him, at least maintaining a standard level of etiquette.

Actually, he didn't care.

He still had an iceberg in his heart. This iceberg had merely melted a small notch before. He truly cared about nothing.

He, or rather "the other him," was an immortal. Immortals don't care about the affairs of mortals.

He couldn't escape this emotion.

His only attachment now was to the colors seen by his eyes, the sounds heard by his ears, the scents smelled by his nose, the tastes tasted by his tongue. These are the only sensations he could control.

After breakfast, he followed the pre-set route to a room.

Upon entering the room, he instinctively felt a dangerous aura. He forced his mind down and then relaxed his spirit. Immediately, a semi-transparent teenage figure appeared in front of him.

"Are you the one I need to see?" Gou Dabao sat down, quietly watching Wang Qi across from him. Truth be told, he was not used to such behavior of letting illusion techniques invade his mind. His "instinct" felt that such actions were akin to putting a knife to one's throat.

However, the more his body instinctually disliked something, the more he loved doing it.

He spoke, "Is the new project, being done by you?"

The teenager nodded, seemed about to say something but hesitated.

"I see." Gou Dabao indifferently nodded, "Alright then. Pass over your cultivation method as you see fit."

The teenager opposite—Wang Qi said, "My cultivation method must be based on the Yao Ding Calculating Scripture to enter the Dao."

The opponent was a Banished Immortal, able to learn mathematical methods based on "coordinate systems," but unwilling to contemplate the meaning and thought within, making it difficult to cultivate Heavenly Position Technique.

"Yao Ding Calculating Scripture?" Gou Dabao frowned with distaste, but then felt a bit happy.

Making the immortal within his body "eat some dirt" seemed like a wonderful thing.

"I can soon waste all this power. Don't worry." Gou Dabao seemed completely unconcerned with this. He looked at his body, "If wasting my power, I might vomit some blood, and they'll still have to clean it specially here, bothersome."

"Is that so..." The teenager didn't know what to say. Naturally, information about Gou Dabao surfaced in his mind.

Gou Dabao's current cultivation was late-stage Foundation Establishment. If an ordinary person tried to waste their power at this stage, it would even harm their soul, not just a mere "vomiting blood." But Gou Dabao possessed an Immortal Remnant Soul, which made him immune to such damage. His body had gradually adapted to the pressure brought by repeatedly wasting effort.

"By the way, do you have time requirements?" Gou Dabao seemed to be already familiar with all this, "You might know some things, but I still need to inform you in advance. I'm a Banished Immortal, there's no soul transformation when I advance, allowing me to upgrade at the maximum theoretical speed. For me, going from Qi Cultivation Stage to Golden Core Perfection only takes a year and three months. If you wish to speed up further, that's a physical burden for me. Speak now if you want it to be faster."

The teenager shook his head, "I have nine years."

"I see." Gou Dabao nodded. Then he stood up and asked, "Any other requirements?"

"No."

"Then I'm going back to waste my power." Gou Dabao stood up without a hint of hesitation or reluctance.

He truly didn't care about his own power.

"Wait a moment." The teenager called out to him, "This cultivation method will definitely cause some special transformations during the advancement from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core. When you reach Foundation Establishment Perfection, prepare to form a core, stop and wait for us to conduct a comprehensive inspection on you, and I'll personally guide you. This is very important."

"Oh." Gou Dabao seemed equally uninterested even in the so-called "special transformation."

Watching him leave, Wang Qi's consciousness returned to Langde's room. In front of him, Chen Feng and Chen Youjia, Mi sat together. The situation just now had been broadcast to the three of them through the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm.

Wang Qi looked at Chen Feng, "What do you think?"

Chen Feng replied with a question, "What do you think?"

"He doesn't really seem like a cultivator." Wang Qi was a bit puzzled by this, "I think he doesn't seem like the violent avenger as stated in the reports. There is simply no trace... not a shred of anything that can be termed as 'drive' or 'passion' in him."

"Desolate." Chen Youjia added.

Chen Feng nodded, "That's normal. His rationality is long submerged in a struggle against his instincts. That surface personality is chronically emotionally void, with all 'drive' being filled by the inactive 'Yin Consciousness.' When Yin Consciousness and Consciousness, primitive and Spiritual Treasure violently clash, he falls into emotional emptiness."

"This phenomenon, temporarily named 'atypical borderline disorder.'"

"The biggest expression is numbness."