Ning An's Wild Wish System

"Yeah, how can you enjoy life without a youthful and energetic body? They’ve reached the pinnacle of power and wealth, yet they can’t enjoy it anymore. If it were me, I’d go crazy too."

"Compared to these old men, I bet those old women are even crazier! Think about it, in their youth, each of them outshone everyone in Chang’an. Now they’re old and faded, the wrinkles and folds on their faces could bury someone alive. No woman can accept such a result."

"Take my aunt for example, the most powerful one in our family. She’s gone crazy now. If it weren’t for someone stopping her, she’d have invited not just the Daoist School but also Changchun Temple."

The people they were talking about were already elderly, with one foot in the grave, and their time was running short.

Therefore, the criteria for choosing in the Daoist School were not limited to age, but rather enlightenment and even inherent qualities.

More importantly, older people entering the Dao might even have a more enlightening effect on them.

These people, who possess incredible energy, in their life’s twilight, have become more believing in metaphysics.

Their pursuits are few, perhaps only one: immortality.

Long before the Spiritual Qi Revival, they had already dug up countless unknown secrets from piles of old paper.

But with the exhaustion of Spiritual Qi, it was like cooking without rice, so they curled up in a corner, fearfully awaiting death.

Now with the descent of Spiritual Qi, all mythical bubbles gradually became reality, they saw hope in life, and their dead hearts began to revive, unleashing astonishing energy!

Gathering the Daoist School from various sects was their proposal and orchestration.

This has been human nature since ancient times; since Qin Shi Huang pursued immortality, countless have fallen on this path.

Of course, entering the Daoist School was one of the projects they invested in.

Over the years, they have also invested in various mysticism, genetic research institutes, and welfare institutions, some of which have indeed made significant progress.

Most of these projects have no intersection with each other, but under the forced intervention of these people, in many cases, they can cooperate with each other.

For instance, although the Daoist School’s food contains Spirit Rice that can quickly help them regain energy and promote cultivation progress, it’s hard to ensure that this mode operates most efficiently.

However, the welfare institution can provide the most suitable and optimally composed meals for everyone in the Daoist School based on their experimental results through partial experiments.

The people in the Daoist School are busy cultivating, rapidly consuming Spirit Rice with low absorption rates, but through these meals, not only does Spirit Rice consumption decrease, but more importantly, their cultivation speed has increased considerably.

Accelerating cultivation speed is simply a blessing for the cultivators in the Daoist School!

Besides the welfare institution, the genetic research team was also brought over by these elders, hoping to have these people improve the physiques of everyone in the Daoist School through genetics.

Everyone in the Daoist School unanimously resisted this practice.

They are human beings, not the guinea pigs of the powerful, and they would absolutely not agree to such a practice!

Even Zhang Yuanyi of Dragon Tiger Mountain, upon learning of this, almost withdrew from the Daoist School in anger, as he simply could not accept such a practice.

The path of cultivation is inherently one of naturalism, emphasizing a gradual progression.

It is okay to slightly accelerate, but genetic engineering, being a crude and immature method, is fundamentally incompatible with his cultivation philosophy and even his personal beliefs, making it utterly unacceptable.

Not long after, this experiment was abruptly stopped from above, like a tiger’s head and snake’s tail.

In comparison to these projects, there are quite a few second generations who, unbeknownst to their elders, have directly come to the Mountain and Sea Mountain Range.

With a few Daoist Scriptures, they sit on Spiritual Energy Nodes, closing their eyes and starting to mutter.

But to have these second generations without any inherent qualities sit cross-legged and even step onto the path of cultivation is simply a pipe dream!

Of course, these are just minor distractions for these undead old folks, as long as nothing happens to the people in the Daoist School, and their path to prosperity is uninterrupted, they let them be.

As for the research base, according to the spiritual land explored by Ning An before, the officials planted various crops, even melons, fruits, and vegetables. But aside from a few crops surviving mutation, the rest, without exception, all failed.

And even the spiritual land capable of growing mutant crops yielded such a small harvest that calling it pathetic wouldn’t be off.

This is why the officials are so eager for someone in the Daoist School to break through as soon as possible, enabling the detection of spiritual lands between heaven and earth.

The Dragon Country is vast and abundant. Instead of claiming spiritual lands, as long as someone can sense them, officials can make full use of them without wasting an ounce.

However, the higher-ups don’t wish their lifelines to be held in the hands of outsiders, so they haven’t reached out to Changchun Temple to this day.

They tightly grip all resources, just waiting for the Daoist School to produce results, and then leverage the giant internal combustion engine of the nation to fully transform all resources into their own, serving their purposes.

"Sigh..."

He sat on the chair, thinking about these things, and felt somewhat headache-induced, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Such policies today obviously prioritize benefits over downsides, but from a historical viewpoint, whether they’re right or wrong is unclear.

Who can say what this country will become in a hundred years or even decades later?

...

"I really envy you, being so relaxed every day."

As Ning An lay on the recliner, chatting with friends in the livestream, a familiar voice came from the temple gate.

Without even raising his head, Ning An could tell it was an acquaintance.

"If you wish, you can come cultivate here for a while."

Pouring a cup of tea and setting it in front, Ning An looked up and teased him.

The visitor was none other than Officer Xiaoli.

Hearing this, Officer Xiaoli downed the tea in one gulp and then laughed:

"If I resign, my master might not want to let me go, finally having trained a capable apprentice."

"You’re good at giving yourself credit."

Ning An laughed and teased, as if two old friends were having a heart-to-heart.

From the moment he met Officer Xiaoli, Ning An thought he was a good person, dependable and trustworthy!

Last time, when Officer Xiaoli took him to the hospital, Ning An thought even more highly of him.

That’s how it is between men; even if they haven’t met many times before, the mutual admiration and friendship can’t be faked.

"No one comes without reason, so what’s up?"

Ning An swayed leisurely on the recliner, speaking lazily.

"Indeed, nothing stays hidden from you."

Hearing this, Officer Xiaoli laughed, then sighed: "You know, that elderly couple doesn’t believe lighting incense will fulfill their wish. No matter how I persuade them, they simply don’t trust me."

"So why are you here?"

Ning An glanced at him: "You’re not here to light incense, are you?"

Officer Xiaoli scratched his head, sounding troubled: "Actually, I am. Figured if they don’t believe it, I’ll show them myself. After all, you’re livestreaming, and they should be watching."

"What?"

This time Ning An couldn’t sit still, his expression slightly surprised: "Aren’t police not supposed to light incense?"

"Who said that?"

This time it was Officer Xiaoli’s turn to be surprised: "Police can light incense. According to the ’Civil Service Law,’ civil servants have the freedom to practice religion."

"Police indeed have the freedom to practice religion. Moreover, like any citizen, police have the right to religious belief, as long as it’s a religion permitted by our country’s laws."

This broadened Ning An’s understanding.

He always thought government employees couldn’t light incense, realizing now his view was too limited.

Ning An silently noted this fact, then asked: "So what are you going to wish for, to prove to them?"

Officer Xiaoli felt a little embarrassed, his face turned slightly red, after drinking several cups of tea, he reluctantly spoke:

"I told them the wish is that I can achieve first-class merit that same day."