"So that's it… This is the Tensen and the Tao."
Takatsuki glanced at Zhu Jin, who lay motionless on the ground, and the Disc in his hand.
The so-called Tensen were not humans, but rather creatures cultivated by the world's Grandmaster Xu Fu, who merged five types of seeds with Tao.
Their human form was merely because the Grandmaster himself was human.
And the monstrous, cult-like creatures on the island were also man-made, intended to control and indoctrinate the ordinary people brought to the island at that time.
Grandmaster Xu Fu had disappeared a long time ago.
However, Takatsuki estimated he had died long ago.
Because although the Tao in Zhu Jin's memory had a life-extending effect, it couldn't keep them immortal and ageless for a thousand years like they were. Their immortality and agelessness were primarily due to their essence being plant-based, coupled with their continuous reliance on consuming elixirs to maintain their Tao. This is why they were immortal and ageless, and could rapidly grow and regenerate even when their bodies were destroyed.
Their only weakness was the tanden.
But simply destroying the tanden wasn't enough; it had to be destroyed with Tao of a clashing attribute.
And even this couldn't completely kill them.
After the functions of their human form were destroyed, they would enter a state called 'Kishikai.' Kishikai is an instinctive mechanism that can be actively triggered or passively activated after "death."
Kishikai is a complete plant form, and also the true body of the Tensen.
To kill them, one must use a counteracting Tao to destroy their ovule, which is equivalent to the tanden's location.
And even if the ovule cannot be destroyed, there is still a way to kill them: by stalling.
Kishikai is a move that consumes a large amount of Tao. After Kishikai ends, the Tao within the Tensen will completely deplete, leading to aging.
However, this is not irreversible; they can recover after taking an elixir.
The so-called elixir is a crystallized form of Tao useful to Tensen, refined by them through special means.
Therefore, the essence of the elixir is plant-based; humans who consume the elixir will turn into plants. Of course, if one can balance the human Tao and the plant Tao within the body, a perfect symbiosis can be formed.
Of course, this is a very difficult thing to achieve.
The Tensen in the palace on this island, named Hōrai, are separately researching methods to achieve immortality through cultivation. Although there is no perfect answer yet, there have been many advancements.
Breathing techniques, meditation, gymnastics, meditation, and Shuten—these five methods have made significant progress.
Zhu Jin was responsible for the internal organs, so he had a thorough understanding of the human body structure.
And each Tensen had their own research, but they would also often share their research findings, so Zhu Jin's memories also contained some understanding of the others.
Unfortunately, Zhu Jin wasn't interested in anything else; he even found living immortally to be a painful experience, and only persisted until now because of the Grandmaster and his family.
So, apart from his hobby of manipulating human bodies, he was completely indifferent to other things.
"If you want to understand in detail, you still need to obtain Lotus's memories."
In Zhu Jin's memory, Takatsuki learned about the personalities of each Tensen. Even the young girl who was with Sagiri and the others was once one of the Tensen, one of the Grandmaster's first two disciples.
Lotus is the most eager for longevity and the most dedicated among all Tensen. To achieve her goals, Lotus can accept any conditions, and if anyone Stands in her way, she shows no mercy. Therefore, the alchemy she researches is also the most effective thing for Tensen.
The so-called elixir is Lotus's achievement; she even cultivated the so-called outer elixir flower.
Putting away Zhu Jin's Disc, Heaven's Stairway grabbed Zhu Jin's head and lifted him up.
Heaven's Stairway: Killer Queen!
A few scorched marks appeared on Zhu Jin's body, then rapidly spread. Soon, his entire body turned into ashes.
Killer Queen's silent explosion left not even a speck of dust, and Kishikai did not occur.
"Indeed, although it feels supernatural, the so-called Kishikai is merely an instinct of their bodies, or rather, a racial characteristic."
Therefore, its activation has limitations. When Takatsuki used his Stand ability to completely erase the Tensen's body, even though Zhu Jin had lost self-awareness, his body still instinctively triggered the Kishikai effect. Unfortunately, the transformation of Kishikai is not instantaneous.
Instead, flowers need to slowly grow on their flesh and blood and intertwine.
It requires a long "transformation" time.
But under the unreasonable erasure of the Stand ability, those flowers were annihilated as soon as they appeared.
Next…
He would venture alone into that so-called Hōrai.
Takatsuki looked in the direction of Hōrai in Zhu Jin's memory.
"Takatsuki-sensei!"
"Takatsuki-dono!"
At this moment, the waiting crowd also noticed the cessation of movement and rushed over.
"Takatsuki-dono, where is that Tensen from before? Have you defeated him?"
Takatsuki smiled at the girl who was looking around cautiously: "I remember, your name is Sagiri, right? Don't worry, Zhu Jin has been taken care of by me."
Everyone else also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"You actually took care of that monster all by yourself, you're amazing, big brother."
The female ninja, Yuzuriha, immediately moved closer to Takatsuki and started circling him.
"Miss Yuzuriha…"
Senta instinctively cried out when he saw Yuzuriha's movement.
"Don't worry, so-called Tensen are a special type of lifeform, created a thousand years ago by the people who built this island, using the fusion of Tao and plants. That's why they have those plant characteristics. You can kill them too, but you'll have to kill them twice."
If they couldn't be annihilated without a trace like Takatsuki, then a second phase had to be fought.
"Moreover, they each have their own attributes. You must use a Tao with a conflicting attribute to destroy their tanden to kill them. After destroying their tanden for the first time, they will transform into monsters formed from their original flower bodies. Destroying the ovules on the monster flowers again will kill them."
Takatsuki smiled and openly shared the information about the so-called Tensen.
"Mm, so that's how it is. No wonder they can regenerate like that."
Shion nodded, not doubting the information Takatsuki provided. The chubby boy, Senta, immediately began to copy, quickly recording Takatsuki's information in his notebook.
"What about the Elixir of Life?"
At this moment, Gabimaru, who had been silent, spoke up.
"Gabimaru~ Didn't Tensen-sama already say it before? The Elixir of Life doesn't exist."
Takatsuki didn't reply; Yuzuriha had already answered Gabimaru's question first.
However, Gabimaru remained unmoved, simply staring at Takatsuki.
Looking at Gabimaru, who was staring intently at him, Takatsuki's expression subtly shifted.
"It doesn't exist, the Elixir of Life."