Chapter 590: Two Modes (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
“Cultivating wood and metal spirit energy simultaneously? ”
Fang Xi was slightly startled. He carefully recalled Wei Qingfeng’s experiences and couldn't help but ask, “These two types of spirit energy are mutually antagonistic, wouldn’t that greatly hinder cultivation progress? Moreover. . . to break through to Return to Void, one must achieve ‘Unification of All Paths,’ at least mastering the power of the Five Elements or the Three Talents, no? ”
“Hehe. . . that’s true, but it’s all old news now. ”
The goat-bearded old man smiled smugly: “This ‘Wood Blade Art’ is a new cultivation method that emerged within the last ten thousand years. Its core principle lies in mutually antagonistic attributes. After cultivating to Soul Transformation Perfection, one uses the mutually antagonistic paths of water and fire, or metal and wood, to stimulate the breakthrough to Return to Void. . . There are already great cultivators who have successfully taken this step. According to the art’s description, while it is perilous, and the success rate is slightly lower than Unification of All Paths, after breaking through to Return to Void, the result is identical. . . ”
‘The Earthly Immortal World is also advancing. . . ’
Hearing this, Fang Xi couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.
Some of the secret insights and breakthrough experiences that he and the Fang Xian Dao Master had gathered in the lower realms might already be outdated.
Fortunately, Setting Sun Plains was originally a remote and desolate place, so his ignorance was understandable.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll take this ‘Wood Blade Art. ’ How many spirit stones does it cost? ”
The goat-bearded old man revealed a joyful smile and waggled five fingers.
Fang Xi, feeling a pang in his heart, reluctantly took out five superior-grade spirit stones and received the cultivation art jade slip from the old man. He secretly decided that once he returned, he would discard this ‘Shi Dingfeng’ persona.
As he chatted with the old man, a wisp of his Divine Consciousness entered the jade slip, swiftly browsing through it.
This ‘Wood Blade Art’ was initially just a decent wood-attribute cultivation method, but after cultivating to the Soul Transformation realm, it included a supplementary ‘Metal Blade Art. ’ This required accumulating metal-attribute spirit energy within the body, eventually reaching a balance with the wood spirit energy, and then suddenly provoking a clash to stimulate the breakthrough of the Return to Void bottleneck!
According to the secret art, cultivating mutually antagonistic spirit energy—metal and wood—was merely average. If cultivators had identical spiritual root aptitudes for water and fire, the probability of breaking through to Return to Void with this method was even higher.
Besides the Five Elements cultivation methods allowing for such breakthroughs, there were also numerous other paths, such as ‘Orthodox-Demonic Unification,’ ‘Human-Demon Unification,’ and so on.
The so-called ‘Orthodox-Demonic Unification’ naturally referred to cultivators who practiced orthodox methods of supreme rigidity and pure Yang. After reaching Soul Transformation, they would supplement their cultivation with a demonic method of extreme Yin and utter malevolence, then attempt to merge the two types of magical power into one.
‘Human-Demon Unification’ was largely similar, additionally requiring the refinement of certain special bloodlines.
Although all these methods took unconventional paths, with a success rate lower than traditional Five Elements, Three Talents, or Body Cultivation breakthroughs. . . their prerequisite conditions were considerably simpler.
Moreover, regardless of the method employed, after breaking through to Return to Void, one would become a Return to Void realm cultivator capable of manipulating Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, and their lifespan would greatly increase!
Return to Void cultivators could manipulate Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, transforming it into even purer Immortal Source, Heavenly Demon, and True Devil Qi to supply their own cultivation.
“Furthermore. . . one could also consume pills like the ‘Two Modes Void Breaking Pill,’ which also have miraculous auxiliary effects for breaking through to Return to Void. . . ”
Fang Xi read through the several methods for breaking through to Return to Void introduced in the secret art, and immediately felt that this cultivation method was well worth the purchase.
Even though he might not necessarily cultivate the ‘Wood Blade Art,’ the ideas for breaking through to Return to Void presented within it held significant guiding value for his future cultivation.
‘Two Modes breakthrough. . . supplementing with a metal-attribute cultivation method after Soul Transformation is indeed much simpler than cultivating Five Elements methods and gathering all five elements. . . ’
‘However, the method with the highest success rate is still ‘Three Qi Unification’. . . ’
Fang Xi made up his mind: it would be best to follow the optimal configuration.
But if he truly couldn't gather the necessary components, he would need other backup methods.
“In Heavenly Ink Pavilion, are there perhaps any maps, or introductions to major external powers? ”
Fang Xi asked, “I intend to leave Setting Sun Plains and properly explore a bit. ”
“Oh? ”
The goat-bearded old man had actually been observing Fang Xi all along.
He noticed that from his language and demeanor, to his attire and even some small habits, it all confirmed to him that this was a local cultivator.
But his cultivation was absolutely not as simple as mere Core Formation!
An ordinary Core Formation cultivator would be lucky to produce superior-grade spirit stones; how could he possibly produce five superior-grade spirit stones? !
However, most who came to trade at Mechanism City kept a low profile, so this was all understandable.
He had seen it many times, so he paid it no mind: “Fellow Daoist desires a map? What size would you like? ”
“Naturally, the larger the better. If there’s one for the entire Earthly Immortal World, that would be even better. ”
Fang Xi chuckled.
“The Earthly Immortal World is vast and boundless. Even though our Human, Yao, and Demon races have been expanding, we have never seen the far edges of the Earthly Immortal World. . . Perhaps this continent where our three races reside is merely a remote corner of the Earthly Immortal World. How could there be a map of the entire Earthly Immortal World? ”
The goat-bearded old man shook his head repeatedly: “However, our pavilion does have maps of the human race’s general territory. It’s just that the price for those is even more expensive than Return to Void cultivation arts. . . ”
Fang Xi seemed to ponder, then reluctantly pulled out a storage bag: “How about these? ”
“Oh? ”
The goat-bearded old man’s Divine Consciousness probed within, and a look of satisfaction couldn't help but appear on his face: “Such a large quantity of spirit materials! This is definitely worth several superior-grade spirit stones. . . Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. ”
He turned and entered the back hall. Before long, he emerged holding a scroll of jade slips.
This jade scroll resembled a mortal’s bamboo scroll, made by stringing together long, thin purple jade slips.
Fang Xi took it, and as his Divine Consciousness entered slightly, he was immediately astonished.
Vast, immense. . .
This was his first impression upon seeing the map.
The dense, countless markings of perilous lands, mystic realms, sects, and nations upon it. . . were truly densely packed, like stars scattered across the sky, seemingly without end.
“Actually, within the Earthly Immortal World, the largest territories are not occupied by our Human, Yao, and Demon races, but rather by the savage regions inhabited by various barbaric ancient beasts. . . ”
The goat-bearded old man explained beside him: “The strongest among the ancient beasts—the Primordial Ancient Beasts—can even contend with True Spirit-level existences like the ‘Phoenix,’ ‘True Dragon,’ and ‘Azure Luan’ worshipped by the Yao race. Our three races’ territories must try their best to avoid their activity areas. . . Our current human territory was actually gained by clearing out large numbers of ancient beasts and savage beasts. Although grand arrays have been established to monitor the entire region, it’s still common for a few savage beasts or ancient beasts comparable to Soul Transformation or Return to Void cultivators to occasionally break out and cause trouble. . . This happens even more frequently than spies from the Yao and Demon races infiltrating. ”
As Fang Xi listened to the explanation, his Divine Consciousness was already surveying the entire map.
To his surprise, in the Earthly Immortal World, where the three races were rumored to contend for supremacy, the territories of the Human, Yao, and Demon races were not interspersed but were separated by numerous natural barriers.
Some of these natural barriers were territories of Primordial Ancient Beasts, while others were permeated by certain natural disasters unique to the Earthly Immortal World. Even mighty Return to Void and Integration stage cultivators were unable to cross them.
The territories of the Human race and the two demonic races were not adjacent. There were only a few meager passages, all noted as being heavily guarded.
“Three Realms Mountain? ! ”
Fang Xi looked towards a certain location in the northernmost part of the human territory, deep in thought.
“Three Realms Mountain is considered the border region where the Human, Yao, and Demon races meet, and it’s also the least dangerous passage. Therefore, it often transforms into a battlefield for the three races, and many ascended great cultivators have been buried there. . . ”
The goat-bearded old man sighed.
“Ascended cultivators? What connection do they have with Three Realms Mountain? ” Fang Xi’s heart stirred, and he casually asked.
“Our Earthly Immortal World connects to the Ascension Platforms of various lower realms, and naturally, there are corresponding ‘Welcoming Immortal Platforms’ in the upper realm. . . ”
The goat-bearded old man replied: “Each lower realm has a specific ‘Welcoming Immortal Platform. ’ Whether one ascends independently after Soul Transformation Perfection or through a passage opened by an Ascension Platform, a successful ascension will directly manifest them upon the corresponding ‘Welcoming Immortal Platform’. . . And most of those ‘Welcoming Immortal Platforms’ are near Three Realms Mountain. Ascended cultivators mostly possess extraordinary talent and unmatched brilliance. . . Many are directly absorbed by the cultivator army guarding Three Realms Mountain and proceed to carve out illustrious reputations. ”
‘Looking at it this way, both independent ascension and Ascension Platforms are a bit of a trap. . . It would be better to find a void rift and directly sneak across. . . Although the death rate is extremely high, it offers the most freedom. ’
Fang Xi muttered to himself inwardly, then asked a few more geographical questions before finally leaving the ‘Heavenly Ink Pavilion. ’
At the same time, he visited several other bookstores, purchased a large number of jade slips, and discreetly departed Mechanism City.
As soon as he flew out of Mechanism City, Fang Xi’s escape light instantly soared, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps he was overly cautious, but he continued to change his form and aura along the way, ultimately hiding himself underground.
Inside a temporarily excavated underground cave dwelling.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged, with jade slips placed beside him.
Through these jade slips, he finally gained a general understanding of the Earthly Immortal World.
“The Earthly Immortal World is incomparably vast. The area occupied by the human race can be divided into ninety-nine domains, each one immensely wide. Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators would likely spend their entire lives merely circling within their own domain. Only cultivators above Soul Transformation possess the ability to migrate across domains. . . ”
“Even within the human territory, it is extremely dangerous. . . Although every domain possesses super arrays capable of monitoring ancient beasts, savage beasts, and demons comparable to Soul Transformation and Return to Void cultivators, they can at most sense their aura and pinpoint their location. By the time enforcement cultivators truly arrive, they will likely only be cleaning up the aftermath. . . ”
“As for the top combat power? The human race has Mahayana Loose Immortals, the Yao race worships several True Spirits, and the Demon race also has Demon Ancestor-level experts; usually, they are rarely seen. . . ”
“The truly famous ones are the Seven Great Sages of the Demon race, the Six Devil Kings of the Demon race, and the Human Race Five Sons. . . all of whom are the most powerful among Integration stage cultivators, their names shaking the Earthly Immortal World! ”
Fang Xi held a fiery red jade slip in his hand, slowly reading the miscellaneous notes within, gaining a deeper understanding of the Earthly Immortal World.
Time passed, its duration unknown.
He formed a hand seal, and his figure instantly vanished.
...
Western Desert Cultivation World.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged, his main Nascent Soul emerging, beginning to assimilate his External Avatar. . .
A long while later.
He opened his eyes, feeling a touch of emotion: “I didn’t expect. . . the Earthly Immortal World to be so vast and boundless, and. . . Immortal Abode Rare Treasures, at that? ”
From the memories of his External Avatar, Fang Xi obtained a crucial piece of information.
That was the ‘Immortal Abode Rare Treasures,’ a class of treasures with unbelievable power, rumored to have originated from the True Immortal World. . .
“It seems. . . research into the ‘Five Fires Seven Birds Fan’ cannot be neglected. . . Even if it’s a replica, if I can refine it, it will be another trump card. . . ”
He pondered for a moment, then looked at his External Avatar: “Now that the general situation of the Earthly Immortal World has been ascertained, and I’ve somewhat integrated into it. . . your next goal is to find a place where you can cultivate in peace and obtain Soul Transformation-level resources. . . ”
“Besides that, you must collect some crucial secret arts and cultivation methods, such as secret arts and pills for breaking through to Return to Void, and also. . . means to resolve the Indestructible Body and Myriad Avatars Divine Ability. ”
These two divine abilities might have made him unkillable in the lower realms when combined with Soul Transformation cultivation, but in the Earthly Immortal World, Black Tai Sui’s so-called ‘undying and unkillable’ would probably be nothing but a joke!
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