I, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, am being kept by the state.

Li Chen's voice echoed in everyone's minds, "For cultivators, the vacuum is just a change of environment."

Qian Youmin subconsciously took a deep breath and found that he could actually breathe.

This completely contradicts all his understanding.

It is common knowledge that there is no air in outer space.

But now he can not only breathe, he even feels more comfortable than on the ground.

Sun Mingde reached out and touched the air in front of him, but he couldn't feel anything. However, he could feel a warm, protective layer around him.

It's like... being enveloped by some unseen life.

"Lord Dragon Lord, this barrier..."

"It is the dragon power of the original body."

Li Chen's voice carried a hint of amusement, "You scientists like to call it the unknown energy field, but in essence, it is the most fundamental component of the universe."

"Cultivators can sense it, manipulate it, and make it operate according to their own will."

"This is not supernatural, but a higher level of nature."

Zhao Huaiyuan suddenly spoke up, "So the physical laws we've studied our whole lives are, in the eyes of cultivators..."

"It is the manifestation of the rules."

Li Chen picked up the conversation, "You are studying how the rules work, while cultivators are learning how to rewrite the rules."

"That's the difference."

"But that's not enough."

With a flick of his dragon tail, Li Chen's massive body instantly transformed into a golden streak of light.

The surrounding starlight began to stretch and distort.

Qian Youmin felt as if he had been thrown into a river of light, with countless stars rushing past him.

The speed was so fast that time lost its meaning.

The moon passed by.

Mars flashed across the horizon.

Jupiter's enormous red spot magnified before my eyes, then quickly shrank back.

Saturn's rings were so close, yet they were already behind us in the next second.

"That speed..."

Qian Youmin's voice trembled. "It's faster than the speed of light?"

As a physicist, he knew all too well what this meant.

According to the theory of relativity, no object with mass can reach the speed of light, let alone exceed it.

But now, they have not only surpassed them, but are also accelerating.

The surrounding planets seemed like a receding landscape, disappearing from view one after another.

Before long, Li Chen led them out of the solar system.

When the enormous vortex-shaped structure came into view, everyone was stunned.

Milky Way.

They had seen this structure in countless photographs and simulated images.

But those are images obtained through telescope observation and then processed by computer.

And now, they have seen the real Milky Way with their own eyes.

A dazzling galaxy, composed of hundreds of billions of stars, slowly rotates in the universe.

The shock was indescribable.

Qian Youmin felt his mind go completely blank.

He dedicated his life to the study of physics, wrote countless papers, and received numerous honors.

But at this moment, he truly understood what insignificance meant.

Humanity's proud technology is nothing but dust in the face of this vast universe.

"Did you see that?"

Li Chen's voice rang out again, "This is the meaning of cultivating immortality."

"It's not for immortality, it's not for power."

"It's not about breaking free from constraints, but about truly touching the essence of this universe."

Qian Youmin murmured.

"How long will it take for our technology to reach that level?"

Qian Youmin's voice echoed in the deathly silent universe, carrying a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

"How long will it take for our technology to reach that level?"

This question was asked on his own behalf, and also on behalf of the more than one hundred colleagues who dedicated their lives to science.

They dedicated their entire lives to sending humanity to the moon and probes out of the solar system.

The dragon in front of them merely waved its claws.

Li Chen did not answer directly.

His vertical pupils, like molten gold, gazed silently at the blue planet beneath his feet.

"Technology is about finding the optimal solution within the framework of rules."

Li Chen's voice was calm and ancient, as if it came from the beginning of the universe.

"You use mathematics to describe gravity, physical laws to explain spacetime, and then create increasingly sophisticated tools to pry open the appearance of this world."

"It's like trying to build a sturdy enough ship to cross an endless sea of ​​suffering."

He paused, and with a gentle flick of his dragon tail in the void, the surrounding nebula rippled.

"And cultivating immortality..."

"It is about making yourselves become that sea."

Become that sea!

These six short words were like a lightning bolt that pierced through time and space, striking the very depths of Qian Youmin and the others' souls.

Qian Youmin's body trembled, and an unprecedented light burst forth from his cloudy eyes.

He got it.

I understand completely now.

Technology is about utilization, transformation, and exploration.

Cultivating immortality is about control, reshaping, and seeking truth within.

One is the user of the tool, and the other is the rule maker.

Different dimensions.

"As for how long it will take..."

Li Chen's voice carried a strange undertone, "Perhaps, by the time your technology reaches this level, this universe will have already experienced heat death a thousand times over."

"Or perhaps, it will never be possible."

This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

On the faces of Qian Youmin and others, there was no longer any lingering attachment to the past scientific system; instead, there was an almost fanatical determination and desire.

What they pursued throughout their lives was the ultimate truth of the universe, wasn't it?

Now, the door to truth is right before us.

"Lord Dragon Lord!"

Qian Youmin bowed deeply, his voice firm and resolute, "We humbly request that you begin your cultivation immediately!"

"We humbly request Your Majesty, Dragon Lord, to impart the Dharma!"

Behind them, more than a hundred white-haired elderly men bowed in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had returned to the era of war and conquest.

Their eyes burned with a flame even more intense than that of the young people.

Li Chenlong made a slight gesture.