I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 249

Time passed quickly. Bai Zhou had stayed on the island for a long time, and life on the island remained unchanged. The knowledge had been taught almost completely.

From the Chali Tribe, Bai Zhou gradually learned about the structure of the Abyss, and his previous filter of viewing this as a fairyland completely disappeared.

Rather than seeking immortals and asking about the Way, he now hoped more to return to his original world.

“Just follow the Abyss upward, and you can return.”

This island ultimately didn’t belong to humans. Being separated from his race for too long, Bai Zhou would always feel lonely.

By chance, when chatting with the Chali Tribe, Bai Zhou noticed that an island they mentioned nearby was very similar to the island where humans had lived before.

This also made Bai Zhou determined to go and see.

Soon, his absent-mindedness also caught his disciple’s attention.

“Master, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing much.” Although the Chali Tribe weren’t human, Bai Zhou had deep feelings for them and didn’t know how to explain.

However, while the Chali Tribe’s civilization level wasn’t high, their method of communicating thoughts through tree roots made it very easy for them to sense hidden emotions in other people’s minds.

They were also extremely sensitive to and concerned about these emotions.

Looking at the tree roots coiled around his body, Bai Zhou stood dazed in place for a long time.

“Master is missing his people, isn’t he?” the disciple asked seriously.

Hearing his disciple’s question, Bai Zhou fell silent. He knew astronomy above and geography below, but he didn’t know how to say goodbye.

The disciple just quietly looked at him, the tree branches not moving at all.

“How many more crossings do we have?” Bai Zhou was now worried he simply couldn’t return.

“I don’t know.” Bai Zhou shook his head.

“Are you leaving, Master?”

“When we connect to others with tree roots, we can know how many times that person will cross with us. If there are many times, it means we still have much time together. If there aren’t any, it means our fate is ended.”

He suddenly realized that the Chali Tribe’s ability was like divination, they could predict the future.

If used fully, it could be very useful.

Many uses flashed through Bai Zhou’s mind, but he skipped over them all. He didn’t want to focus on these things now.

Bai Zhou was stunned and nodded.

“We will cross like tree roots, then separate, heading toward different places. Before long, we’ll cross again, then separate again. All Chali Tribe members are the same.”

The disciple looked at Bai Zhou and said very seriously.

“Our crossings, how many are there?” Bai Zhou was now worried that he would never be able to leave this island for his entire life.

“Many, countless.” The disciple looked and answered.

Many?

Could it be that he could never leave this island in his lifetime?

This made Bai Zhou even more confused.

“This ability wouldn’t be like divination, sometimes accurate and sometimes not, would it?”

With a half-believing, half-doubting attitude, Bai Zhou continued asking, “Are these numbers accurate?”

“Very accurate.”

Hearing his disciple’s answer, Bai Zhou became somewhat dejected.

However, he still wanted to try leaving this island. If he didn’t try, then he would truly be trapped here.

“I need to tell my people the news about the Abyss. I can’t let them remain in the dark.”

Thinking of those compatriots still on the island dreaming of seeking immortals and asking about the Way, perhaps still waiting desperately for immortals, Bai Zhou became even more determined.

“Disciple, I must leave. Only with separation can there be crossing. If we can really meet again, I’ll teach you new things…”

“Good, Master. What will you teach me?”

The disciple’s question stumped Bai Zhou. He had just spoken casually, not expecting his disciple to take it seriously.

New things?

Thinking about since he came to the island, the things he knew had been taught almost completely. Even some useless etiquette for serving the emperor, Bai Zhou had taught to the Chali Tribe during casual conversations.

There really weren’t any new things.

Bai Zhou’s mind spun rapidly, and he finally thought of something.

At this moment, he returned to his old profession.

“When I come back, I’ll teach you immortality.”

“Immortality?” Hearing Bai Zhou’s words, the disciple’s eyes lit up. “Master, why don’t you teach me now?”

The disciple seemed very interested in immortality, or rather, he was interested in all the new things Bai Zhou taught.

Now that he knew about “immortality,” something that sounded very powerful, he naturally pestered Bai Zhou, asking this and that.

Bai Zhou himself didn’t know immortality. He could only act profound like when deceiving the emperor, speaking a lot of vague nonsense.

“Immortality is humanity’s ultimate goal. This concerns the development of an entire race. It cannot be easily transmitted, especially to other races.”

“But considering you are also my direct disciple, I will teach you. However, learning this means bearing a cost. Can you bear such a cost?”

“I can!” The disciple answered immediately without thinking.

Bai Zhou pretended to sigh and began making things up.

“Actually, immortality has long been hidden in the knowledge I taught you.”

“During this time, I’ve taught your Chali Tribe many things: alchemy and medicine-making, observing celestial phenomena, divination, feng shui. Actually, all this knowledge is preparation for immortality.”

“Alchemy requires materials, the better the materials, the more precious the pill.”

“Celestial phenomena are the same, long clear weather must bring drought, long drought must bring rain.”

“Divination has opposites, mutual generation and restraint, where there’s positive there must be negative.”

“When wind comes, water naturally comes; when wind stops, water also stops…”

“This is like the Abyss, costs are everywhere.”

“To steal life from heaven, you must pay the cost of life, using other things to fill life’s void. Do you understand?”

Bai Zhou looked at his disciple seriously.

The disciple had never seen Bai Zhou so serious and weakly answered, “I don’t understand. Do we use other living beings’ lives to fill it? Like when we eat medicine, the medicine becomes our lifespan?”

Bai Zhou was stunned, thinking, “How did he say my lines?”

He had originally wanted to use the same set he used to deceive the emperor, introducing the immortal pill theory.

But he hadn’t expected his disciple to have such high comprehension, saying in advance what Bai Zhou wanted to say.

This completely removed the mystique.

The great taboo of deception was losing the mystique.

So Bai Zhou’s face remained unchanged, but his heart had already begun crafting another explanation.

“Disciple, this is why I don’t want to teach you now. You haven’t digested the previous knowledge, so naturally you can’t understand the meaning of immortality. Think about it—what does ‘eternal’ represent?”

“If you only use medicine, eating one extends life by ten years, eating two extends it by twenty years, is that called eternal?”

“Think again, what things are eternal?”

“When we eat medicine, are we really eating lifespan?”

“Using life to supplement life, do we really need life?”

“…”

A series of questions left the disciple frozen in place.