In the Futu Mountain Range, on a different peak from Kilovolt Peak. While Wu Yu was reading the four important books within his wooden hut, six people stood, with Zhang Futu as their leader.
His hands were clasped behind his back, his expression serious and reflective.
"Senior Brother Zhang, has this person really beaten a second tier Jindan Dao Realm cultivator?" an assistant hall master asked.
Zhang Futu shook his head.
That had been with the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman.
That person laughed and said, "That's what I said - he can't be that sickeningly strong. But still, to achieve such miraculous improvements in that level of barren land, and to defeat Zhou Xuan, who is at the Jindan Dao Realm, he is indeed qualified to be Senior Brother Zhang's disciple."
Another person said, "But he is a stubborn one. Offending others will come back to bite him sooner or later."
Zhang Futu said, "No problem. Those bites will help him grow as well. We've seen all that we came to see. Let's go."
Another person asked, "Hall Master, when you return to the Huang sword domain, if this kid is bullied, should we lend him a hand?"
Zhang Futu said, "No need for preferential treatment. Take him as an ordinary disciple. That will train him better."
Immediately, someone laughed, saying, "Senior Brother Zhang has such a heart. If this kid eventually makes something of himself, he will definitely thank you."
Zhang Futu laughed lightly. But unseen to those behind him, his brows were deeply furrowed with suspicion.
He would first leave this place for the Clear Sky of Shushan. The remaining assistant hall masters would leave soon enough. It was they who had noticed the skirmish between Wu Yu and Zhou Xuan and had secretly notified Zhang Futu. They did not think that Zhang Futu was already nearby. All of them had witnessed the clash between Wu Yu and Zhou Xuan.
"Let's beat it. Hall Master told us not to bother the kid."
The assistant hall masters returned to their own territories. They had more important things to do - to charge on to a new level and become disciples of the Huang sword rank.
Wu Yu did not know that Zhang Futu had been observing even this minor clash.
"The help of Master and my senior brothers will be absent from my future path. I have to walk it myself."
He calmed down and began to read the four important books. Of them, The Lore of the Divine Continent was the thickest and required the most time, while The Rules of the Shushan Sect and Cultivation Log had the least content. Wu Yu began with The Rules of the Shushan Sect.
Upon close reading, he realized that there were many limitations in the Shushan Immortal Sect. For example, there were strict rules that laid out the interactions with demons and ghostly cultivators. The Shushan Immortal Sect decreed that disciples definitely could not ally with demons or ghostly cultivators, on pain of immediate banishment upon discovery. Ghostly cultivators and demons were ghastly labels. Shushan disciples were supposed to kill them on sight, out of duty to uphold the good.
As for their own sect brethren, they were prohibited from killing each other. They could clash, but serious wounds were forbidden. If there was really an unresolvable conflict, they could request for a fight to the death from the hall master, but the chances of it being granted were not high.
However, seeing how Zhou Xuan had pressured him for Golden Essence Pills and even attacked him, it seemed like normal quarrels were allowed, as long as no deaths occurred.
Of course, the sect rules also described another place where one could not use martial arts at all; otherwise, one would be imprisoned. The prisons of the Shushan Immortal Sect were not like the Sealed Room in the Heavenly Sword Sect. The majority were built for demons and ghostly cultivators. Their imprisonment was a fate worse than death itself, and the prisons were divided into a few levels. Disciples who committed heavy sins might be thrown into jails that were originally for demons. That would be horrifying.
Reading The Rules of the Shushan Sect, Wu Yu realized that the immortal sect held them to high standards. He would have to remember them all well.
After about three days, he had completely familiarized himself with these few hundred sect rules.
After taking some time to digest it, he finally flipped open the Cultivation Log, which he had been longing to read. This book included many details on the world of cultivation.
Wu Yu skipped the information on the Qi Condensation Realm, picking up his reading thereafter. He spent just half a day processing all of it.
Although it was simple, after he read it, he was thoroughly shaken to the core. He finally knew how one became an immortal.
Jindan Dao Realm. Firstly, one condensed qi completely, then concentrated all 10 spiritual sources at the Sea of Breath Meridian, forming a Jindan. The Jindan essence within the Jindan was a tier higher than spiritual power. And after forming a Jindan, the Jindan would have immortal fire that could be activated to refine immortal medicines within a medicinal furnace immortal treasure.
When one first formed a Jindan, its quality would differ between people. The quality was divided into three classes: pale gold, gold, and deep gold. If the Jindan was shrouded in colored mist, then its quality was even better. And the immortal fire that resulted differed in quality as well. Martial cultivators with a higher quality Jindan would have stronger a Jindan essence and immortal fire. Their fighting abilities and ability to refine immortal medicines would all be stronger than their peers of the same level.
Jindan 10 tiers. The first five tiers would refine the Jindan step by step, from the size of one's little finger to the size of a chicken egg, until finally it became a resplendent Jindan.
To enter the fifth tier, one needed to become one with the Jindan and then cultivate a Great Dao Mystique to accentuate the Jindan.
Wu Yu finally read the introduction of Great Dao Mystique. Great Dao Mystiques were different from dao techniques. It was another skill of cultivation that had different fundamental principles and methods of offense. Great Dao Mystiques were extremely potent, and whether one could cultivate it depended on one's nature. Great Dao Mystiques were not classified in detail, but there were stronger and weaker ones. There were also some rankings for Great Dao Mystique techniques. Normally, strengthening one's Mystique required copious amounts of resources.
It was said that once demons reached the Jindan Realm, they would activate their bloodline Mystique. Meanwhile, it was said that the Great Dao Mystique cultivators practiced now were actually derived from demons by the ancient martial cultivators, who then changed it to suit one's own Jindan. Mystique became a skill that would complement their own growth. Normally, the potency of the Jindan essence determined the power of the Great Dao Mystique. Even after one became an immortal, the power of the Great Dao Mystique would still follow through.
It was said that after reaching the fifth tier of the Jindan Dao Realm, battles were decided by one's Great Dao Mystique.
As for the concrete description of the Great Dao Mystique, it was written in the other book: Orientation Log. Wu Yu chose to keep reading.
In the Jindan Dao Realm, martial cultivators had a lifespan of roughly 300 years. Although it could not reach that of the demons, their speed was swift - much better than a thousand years of demon cultivation.
At the 10th tier of Jindan, when the Jindan was strengthened to its maximum, one could use the Violet Kingdom Skill to shatter the Jindan, creating a mini-world within the Jindan itself. The Jindan essence would be transformed into a purple mist that circled the mini-world, known as the Violet Kingdom.
The first tier of the Violet Kingdom allowed one to reach the second gate of Mystique. One's Jindan essence would be changed to Violet Kingdom primordial fire, which was superior.
At the fourth tier, one's Violet Kingdom primordial energy would condense into liquid form, becoming a lake. And at this time, one could cultivate the third gate of Mystique.
When one reached the seventh tier of the Violet Kingdom, the lake would grow as wide as the sea, and one could cultivate the fourth gate of Mystique.
At the tenth tier of the Violet Kingdom, the sea reflected the moons' glow, and the primary foundations of dao were complete.
It was said that the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm was where true power began to be harnessed. Martial cultivators of the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm had powers as vast as an ocean. They could truly command the wind and rain, and the seas would move at their beckoning. With four gates of Mystique, they were extremely terrifying!
Those at the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm had 500 years of life!
After reaching the tenth tier of the Violet Kingdom, one's physical and spiritual powers were replete, and one could continue down the path to cultivating even more power.
In the Cultivation Log, the following realm was not well elaborated upon. Perhaps because Wu Yu and the others were only newcomers to the dao, knowing too much would not help them either.
The next realm was called the Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm. It was beyond the Violet Kingdom, and one's primordial energy would be at a peak. One would transcend consciousness, where spirit and body would become one: a primordial spirit. One's spirit would be tremendous. Even after the physical flesh wasted away, the primordial spirit would never cease. A primordial spirit was a deity-like presence - it could survey one's surroundings and see the world clearly. The primordial spirit was free of a body and could not be killed or vanquished.
Exactly because primordial spirits existed, there were true spirit designs. Whether immortal treasure spirit designs or talisman spirit designs, or even other offensive and defensive spirit designs, only those at the Primordial Spirit Realm could draw them with true power. The others were all mimics.
As for how primordial spirits drew these spirit designs, Wu Yu was still far from that.
It was said that when one entered the Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm, one would have at least 1,000 years of life.
Wu Yu had thought that entering the Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm meant that one would become immortal, but that was not so. Actually, there was an even more important realm following that, and that was where Ming Long had reached.
This realm was called: Three Disasters, Dao Contemplation Realm.
This was not well elaborated on, but Wu Yu knew that once the Primordial Spirit Realm was completed, and one's dao foundations were complete, one had to contemplate the dao and gain enlightenment. To find one's own dao. To create one's own dao. The Dao Contemplation process had three trials. The third tier to the fourth tier of Dao Contemplation was known as the first disaster. Going from the sixth tier to the seventh was known as the second disaster, while the ninth to tenth tier was known as the third disaster. Once one had passed all three disasters, one would be a demigod. Demigods had to have their own dao, and have attained their dao enlightenment. Finally, they would face the final Great Trial of the Immortal Dao. If they passed it, they could become an immortal; otherwise, one's body would fade and die with the dao. One could choose to be enlightened about multiple daos before challenging, but the Great Trial of the Immortal Dao would also become more difficult.
Jindan, Violet Kingdom, Primordial Spirit, Dao Contemplation!
Wu Yu did a rough count, and realized how far he was from becoming immortal.