Warhammer Cultivation: Cultivating the Tao Te Ching in the 40K Universe

From the initial near-death experience to the final completion of the Golden Core, and then to the moment when those strange eyes, one like eternal night and the other like a star, opened...

Every detail was faithfully recorded by that cold, emotionless stream of data.

There were six other figures standing in the hall.

They each represent one of the Empire's most deadly assassin temples.

A graceful figure, dressed in a black bodysuit that resembled a second skin, exuded a deadly elegance and an aura of death. She was none other than the representative of the Callidus Temple, a place specializing in stealth and disguise.

The other figure was like a mobile arsenal, his muscles bulging and taut from the combat agents, and through the gaps in his combat suit, one could even see the metallic implants gleaming under his skin. He was a death messenger from the Eversor Temple, which specialized in mass destruction.

The third figure was the most eerie. It wore a completely sealed, jet-black ethereal suit filled with energy conduits and runes, and a massive, grotesque helmet resembling that of a Cyclops. It simply stood there silently, the surrounding light seemingly swallowed by the suit, emanating an aura of "nothingness" that could freeze the soul—undoubtedly, it was a psionic nemesis from the Culexus Temple.

The fourth figure was like a ghost. He wore an inconspicuous technical priest's robe, half of his face was covered by a data interface, and his fingers silently swept across the void, as if he were reading all the unseen information streams in this space. He was the information assassin of the Vanus Temple.

The fifth figure was the most ordinary, with a face so plain that he would be completely forgotten in the next second, as if he had blended into the shadows. He was the Poison Master from Venenum Temple.

But at this moment, these six incarnations of death, enough to keep any star governor on edge, were like the most devout students, silently gazing at the image, and... another colleague.

He was a Vindicare assassin. He wore a gray-black camouflage bodysuit that blended into any environment, and in his hand, he was repeatedly polishing his Exitus rifle, named "Retreat," with a specially made deerskin. This rifle was capable of accurately sniping any target from kilometers away.

"'Ghost'." The figure on the throne, constructed entirely of darkness, spoke slowly. His/her voice seemed to be composed of countless different voices superimposed simultaneously, filled with an undefinable, abyssal echo. "You are the best sniper among us. Your eyes can see the farthest distances, can capture the faintest flaws. Tell me, what did you see?"

Chapter 141 She from Chulisas

The Vendica assassin known as "Ghost" put down the deerskin in his hand and slowly raised his head. His eyes, hidden behind tactical goggles, were like two blue stars frozen in absolute calm.

“I saw… ‘nothingness.’” His voice, as cold and precise as the rifle in his hand, “At the end of that video, when his ‘golden core’ was completely completed, all his life signals, all energy fluctuations, all… characteristics of ‘existence’ completely disappeared from my lock.”

"He was as if he had never existed."

"Do you think you can... kill him?"

The "Ghost" remained silent for a moment, seemingly conducting a highly precise, life-or-death ballistic calculation.

Finally, he slowly shook his head.

"I cannot lock onto a target that 'does not exist'."

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

A Vendica assassin, the Empire's most powerful and ultimate weapon designed for "decapitation" operations, actually admitted that he couldn't lock onto a target.

This is no longer "powerful".

This is the most thorough... denial of the very foundation of the entire Vendica Temple!

"And what about you?" The Shadow Lord's gaze turned to the other temple representatives.

The representative of the Temple of Calidus, that woman whose allure was deadly, for the first time abandoned her playful smile, her voice becoming serious: "My transformation potion allows me to become anyone and infiltrate any heavily guarded location. But my disguise is based on imitating the target's 'behavioral patterns' and 'psychological characteristics.' And this person…"

She looked at the figure in the image, sitting cross-legged, letting the storm of laws sweep over him, yet his Dao heart remained calm and undisturbed, and slowly shook her head.

"...He has no 'pattern'. His 'heart' is an absolute 'emptiness'. I cannot imitate a...nothingness."

The representative of the Temple of Iverson, whose body resembled a raging beast, for the first time ceased the ceaseless, slight trembling caused by the combat potion.

“My mission is ‘destruction.’” His voice, which sounded like two pieces of metal rubbing against each other and was filled with murderous desire, carried a hint of confusion for the first time. “But you cannot destroy something that… cannot even confirm its existence.”

Apart from the Temple of Chulisas remaining silent, once all the other representatives gave negative answers, the entire hall fell once again into that suffocating silence of absolute power.

"It seems we've encountered a... 'problem'."

The Shadow Lord's voice was devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Yet, the shadows formed by pure darkness in the hall seemed to grow even deeper and... colder.

“An existence that has completely ‘vanished’ on the subspace level. A Dao Heart of ‘nothingness’ that is immune to all mental attacks. An ‘absolute silence’ that can even completely nullify the ‘lock’ of our top assassins…”

He/She slowly "stood up" from the throne formed by shadows.

"For the Assassin's Court, which regards 'stealth' as ​​its guiding principle, this kind of... 'law-level' stealth is something we've never heard of and dream of..."

"—The Ultimate Grail."

As soon as he/she finished speaking, the representative from the Temple of Churisas, who had been silent all along, whose figure was like a human black hole, slowly raised his/her head.

"Echo." For the first time, the Shadow Lord's voice carried a hint of solemnity. "You are the one among us who is closest to the 'nothingness.' The 'Tao' that mortal named Hector Kane possessed has an essence that is strikingly similar to your 'talent.' Yet, they are also completely different."

"Go, my 'echo'."

The Shadow Lord's voice was like a final verdict.

“Go to ‘Wenxinzhai’. Go to that place full of ‘vitality’ and ‘harmony’. Go to examine it, to understand it, if possible…”

His/her voice became incredibly cold, devoid of any emotion.

"...Go and invite him."

"For me, and for the entire Assassin's Court, bring this... ultimate secret of 'nothingness'."

The figure, which resembled a humanoid black hole, offered no reply.

It simply, slowly, raised its head. The enormous, one-eyed helmet, filled with countless tiny probes, turned towards the holographic projection of the figure sitting cross-legged, as serene as the universe itself.

Then, like an ink droplet merging into water, its body silently vanished into absolute darkness.

"Wenxinzhai" was Hector Kane's private meditation room.

Here, there are no superfluous decorations, only four walls made of an unknown alloy that absorbs all light and energy fluctuations and appears deep black, and in the center of the room, a three-foot square futon carved from white jade.

Hector sat cross-legged on a futon, savoring the cup of spiritual tea in his hand, which had long since cooled, but whose aroma had become even more refreshing.

He knew that the "guest" had arrived.

He did not use the "Qi Observation Technique" or any Golden Core Realm divine sense to investigate.

He just "felt" it.

I sensed that in this dojo he had personally built, which was full of "harmony" and "balance," a discordant "gap" had appeared in the perfect "circle."

It wasn't "broken".

Instead, it was "erased".

It's as if the greatest painter, upon discovering a completely "white spot" that had been "cut out" from his vibrant "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" painting, found it out of thin air.

That "white dot" is moving slowly towards the center of the painting, which is where he is, in a silent yet unstoppable manner.

Wherever it goes, all the vibrant colors are silently neutralized; all the harmonious rhythms are forcibly silenced.

This is a kind of "negation" that originates from existence itself.

Hector's lips curled into a thoughtful smile.

He slowly put down the teacup in his hand.

Then he closed his eyes.

He did not reinforce his "temple" nor did he release any hostile aura.

He simply let go completely of his Daoist heart, which had long since seen through all illusions and was absolutely "empty"!

The quiet room remained completely still.

But beneath this tranquility, an ultimate showdown between "emptiness" and "nothingness," which does not belong to any known system of laws in this universe, has silently begun!

One is a weapon that passively "becomes" nothingness; its very existence is a "negation" of all life.

The other is that it actively "chooses" to become the Dao, which can contain all things; its very existence is an "inclusion" of the entire universe.

When "negation" meets "inclusiveness"...

In the corner of the quiet room, in the deepest shadow where even light could not escape, the air, like the surface of a calm lake tossed with a stone, distorted slightly.

A figure dressed in a jet-black, skin-like, non-reflective bodysuit, with a huge, menacing helmet filled with countless tiny probes and energy absorbers on its face, silently emerged like a ghost from another dimension.

Its arrival did not cause the slightest disturbance or energy fluctuation.

But the "qi" in the entire quiet room was completely drained away by an invisible black hole the moment it appeared!

That's... "anti-psychic energy"!

Untouchables are born with the Untouchable gene.

The Churisas assassin, codenamed "Echo," stood there silently.

Its enormous, one-eyed helmet, filled with countless tiny probes, was locked on the seemingly defenseless mortal sitting cross-legged on the futon.

ta, in "examining".

He was using his innate talent of "soullessness," which could annihilate all the light of the soul, to examine the "otherworldly" person in front of him, who was also filled with an aura of "silence" and "nothingness."

However, its "negative aura," which was enough to cause any master of the Star Speaker to instantly collapse his soul and bleed from his seven orifices, was like a gentle breeze passing over a hill, or a mud ox sinking into the sea, when it enveloped Hector's body, without stirring up the slightest ripple!

He felt that his invincible power of "nothingness," which was enough to negate all "existence," had crashed into an abyss that was even more "empty" than nothingness itself.

In that instant—the very core of its logic, refined and trained through countless trials and long since devoid of all emotion—a moment of "confusion" for the first time arose from the incomprehensible scene before it.

The mortal who was sitting cross-legged in meditation slowly spoke.

"The tea is getting cold."

His voice, though not loud, was clear and resonated in this supposedly absolutely silent "anti-psychic" realm, like the first chime of a bell in eternal silence.

"Uninvited guests are not a good habit."

"What do you think, this... lady from the Temple of Churisas?"

The assassin codenamed "Echo" trembled violently for the first and last time, hidden beneath his menacing helmet!

He... he is not only immune to his own "negative aura"!

He... he could even see through his own body, which was already wrapped in countless layers of physical and mental disguise...?

For the first time, a crack called "fear" appeared in the core of her frozen soul, which had long been stripped of all "self"!

Hector, on the other hand, slowly opened his dark, calm eyes, which were as deep as an abyss.

A smile appeared on his lips.

"Now, it's my turn."

He gently gestured "please" to the figure that seemed to blend into the darkness and was filled with "nothingness," as if inviting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

Chapter 142 Ice Muscle and Jade Bone (Update 1)

The core of "Echo," which had undergone countless brutal training and inhuman modifications and had long since abandoned all emotions, for the first time at this moment, experienced a "logical error" of "confusion" due to the incomprehensible scene before it!

She knew that the suppression at the level of laws had completely failed.

So, all that's left is... the most primitive and purest physical means!

She slowly raised her hand, which was wearing a black tactical glove.

Then, a barely audible hiss, like a high-pressure gas leak, came from her black combat uniform.

The bodysuit, which should have absorbed all light like a second skin, began to slowly change, as if it were alive, due to its matte, abyss-like material.

First, the body part of the combat suit was exposed. The stealth state was over, the physical convergence field was deactivated, and the optical shielding matrix was turned off, revealing her graceful figure.

The combat uniform was no longer simply black, but rather a more textured dark gray that seemed to be composed of countless tiny scales.

It tightly enveloped a body that could be described as perfect.

It wasn't the softness of an ordinary woman, nor the muscularity of a Space Marine, but rather a streamlined beauty befitting a top predator. Every undulation of her muscles seemed to have undergone the most precise wind tunnel testing, outlining a breathtaking undulation beneath the bodysuit, concealing explosive power and indescribable flexibility.

Her long, slender legs contrasted sharply with her slim waist, and every slight movement carried a deadly allure, like a bowstring ready to be released, exuding a dangerous yet captivating charm.

What's even more striking is that it cleverly cinches at the waist, outlining a slender curve that can be grasped in one hand, perfectly showcasing the charm of the "willow-leaf waist" of a classical Eastern beauty, while also revealing an undeniable explosive power within its tightness, like a budding dark orchid, exuding an intoxicating fragrance in the dark night.

Immediately following was a crisp "click" sound.

With a barely perceptible sound, like the opening and closing of a beetle's jawbone, the enormous, menacing one-eyed helmet silently split open from the middle, then folded and closed to the sides, finally fitting seamlessly into the etheric robes on her back, which were filled with energy conduits and runes.

A face, bathed in the soft light of the quiet room, resembled a snow lotus in its first bloom, quietly revealing its captivating beauty.

That was a face... enough to leave even the most perfect artist in the empire speechless.

Every inch of her features seemed to have been meticulously sculpted by the most skilled genetic craftsmen, using the perfect proportions of the golden ratio, without the slightest flaw. Her skin, due to years of being deprived of sunlight, possessed a sickly yet captivating whiteness, like the pristine, untouched ice and jade bones deep within the Kunlun Mountains.

Her lips, however, were a dark red that contrasted sharply with her pale complexion, like freshly congealed blood, like the most intense vermilion in a Jiangnan ink painting, adorning the simple canvas and outlining an indescribable allure.

Her neat, short silver hair, flowing like moonlight, clung to her perfect head shape, making her eyes appear like two deep purple stars frozen at absolute zero, containing an eternally unchanging transcendent coldness.

Those eyes held no emotion befitting a living being. There was no curiosity, no anger, no fear, only an absolute "nothingness" capable of freezing any soul to ice.