"As you are aware, I know little about the martial path, but I understand how the immortal path of qi cultivation works." Upon hearing An Jing's inquiry, Yvelbane answered with confidence. "As qi cultivation prevails in this world, I shall clarify a few points for you."
The sword soul had grown more open and forthright through their shared experiences. "The immortal path of qi cultivation begins with qi essence. Qi essence is aura. It's the innate qi of the human body, a pure and true energy synthesized by the union of yin and yang, erging when the soul and flesh beco one.
"Physical conditioning serves only to build vigor. By practicing contemplation techniques, combining physical movent with breathing exercises, balancing internal and external techniques, and using spirit incense to enter ditation, one achieves unity of body and soul that kindles the first wisp of innate qi.
"But nothing is fixed. Yin and yang, stillness and motion, constantly flow into each other. As the saying goes, all thousand thods lead back to the Grand Dao. In this regard, the martial path and immortal path are essentially one and the sa—Silk, River, and Tide. However, the paths diverge thereafter."
Yvelbane continued slowly, "Spirit roots are the physical embodint of one's natural gifts. Without one, the transformation of vigor and essence is all but impossible, as is the absorption of spirit qi in the environnt for further refinent.
"Even those born with spirit roots must nurture their innate qi to fully restore it. This expansion, achieved through the refinent of qi essence, constitutes the foundational stage of qi cultivation, that is, the Spirit Awakening Realm.
"Upon reaching the peak of the Tide Essence Stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm, the purple mansion and spirit roots are nourished by qi essence and grow ever more robust. The purple mansion brings forth spirit sense and enables the absorption of spirit qi from the environnt, which is then refined into spirit energy through the spirit roots, feeding back to nourish the physical form. This initiates a profound tamorphosis from mortal flesh toward an immortal foundation.
"This is the next step on the immortal path of qi cultivation, that is, the Qi Refinent Realm. At this point, a cultivator gains an additional 60 years of life, pushing their lifespan to a total of 180 years.
"Beyond the threshold of the Qi Refinent Realm lies the Foundation Building Realm. When spirit qi has tempered the flesh to its absolute pinnacle, the purple mansion nurtures the soul. This shatters the natural barriers, allowing one to absorb the pure essence of heaven and earth and condense their qi essence and spirit energy within the body into their natural counterparts, profound essence and various profound qi.
"Profound essence originates from the Dao, or the Source. A common example is the cultivation of sun purple qi and moon radiance through solar and lunar imrsion. The various profound qi are the primal, chaotic energies inherent in all things. They fall into three categories: heavenly, earthly, and human lethal qi, with the latter two being more common. Pri examples include subterranean fla-lethal qi and war blood-lethal qi.
"Together, they combine to form universal innate qi, or spirit qi. Cultivators use profound essence and profound qi to completely transform their physique and foundation. From this point forward, their qi essence is directly converted into their chosen profound qi. This complete tamorphosis pushes one across the threshold into the immortal realm and extends their lifespan to 360 years.
"However, this also ans that once cultivators reach the Foundation Building Realm, they are bound to techniques that align with their chosen profound qi. Because there's no room for change, this realm is known as the 'gateway of no regrets' and the 'foundation of no return'.
"As the 'three hurdles to the dao foundation,' the three realms, which fall within the mortal domain, are the ultimate obstacles to building one's dao foundation. Take but one more step, and you will shed your mortal coil to ascend into the immortal ranks."
Yvelbane explained in a clear and articulate manner, "Although Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal requires nurturing qi essence to grow, you can begin refining qi in advance. By rging mystic-tal lethal qi with your own qi essence, you refine Evenstar lethal qi, granting you the strength of a Qi Refinent cultivator ahead of ti.
"But you must be ticulous when selecting mystic tals. The purer the tals, the more refined your Evenstar lethal qi becos. Only then can you bear the most potent types of profound qi and forge an unrivaled dao foundation."
An Jing lapsed into a pensive silence, weighing the weight of the sword soul's words. "I see."
Etching these principles into his mind, An Jing swallowed the final morsel of at and said, "Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal condenses seals by refining lethal qi, but the body can't generate lethal qi on its own until an immortal foundation is established.
"Before that breakthrough, a cultivator must extract lethal qi from mystic tals, hence its other na: Evenstar tal-Devourer. Just as you said, this was how ancient sword immortals tempered their flesh upon achieving a certain level of cultivation."
It was clear this technique was intended for seasoned Foundation sword cultivators, allowing them to fuel their progress with their own lethal qi. After all, how could a re Qi Refinent novice hope to afford the mountain of mystic tals required for such an extravagant path?
"Indeed." Observing An Jing's keen discernnt, Yvelbane said with a hint of appreciation. "Body refinent and the path of a martial cultivator share commonalities. In light of these changing tis, I chose Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal as it's a technique that remains viable across all realms, so long as mystic tals are within reach. Even if your progress stalls, you won't lose the physical tempering you've achieved. Should you shift toward the martial path, your efforts won't be in vain."
Yvelbane was indeed wholehearted in its instruction. Only a true ntor would show such ticulous care, planning for every circumstance.
An Jing wouldn't sacrifice his cultivation just because he was backed into a corner and desperately needed firearms to survive the crisis. Even now, he was perched on the sofa in the back room, locked in ditation and completely tuned out from his surroundings. With every asured breath, he regulated his aura. His vigor surged as his body radiated waves of heat like a white-hot furnace.
Midway through his own recovery, Huo Qing snapped out of his ditative state to stare at An Jing in surprise. Torn between interrupting An Jing and the fear that sothing was going wrong, he called talhand over to check on him.
talhand's impatience vanished the mont he saw An Jing, replaced by a pensive expression. "A top-tier vital cultivation technique... The kid has got to be a prodigy from so great tribe out in the badlands!"
But for so reason, he's here in the Mortality Plains all alone. Don't tell ... this has sothing to do with Big Brother and the others...
Shaking his head, talhand urged Huo Qing to let An Jing be. After so thought, he set up a mini wood spirit formation to gather vitality.
"Consider it a free gift," he muttered, "Make sure you co and find if your tribe has any big business proposals later on."
An Jing sensed the surge of spirit qi and his furrowed brow relaxed. Soon, a day slipped by in his ditative state. The vitality from the wood spirit formation and the nourishnt from the canned at revitalized An Jing, stripping away his fatigue and healing old injuries.
As he woke, a flash of dark crimson flickered in his eyes. An Jing exhaled a long, sharp breath that struck the ground like an arrow, ringing out with a tallic clang.
"You're awake?" talhand called out at the sound of the commotion in the rear building. "Now that you're up, get over here. I've restored the OverSight sword case for you."
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