Sixteen...

  The path of cultivation requires refining one's heart and actions. From the beginning of the Great Way, the realm of cultivation is divided into two parts: the first four realms and the last four realms. The first four realms are: cultivating Qi, building the foundation, Golden Elixir, and Yuan Ying. For cultivators, once they break through Yuan Ying, it means they have achieved some success on their long journey to immortality. However, if they want to truly attain enlightenment and ascend to become an immortal, they must gradually cultivate the last four realms: transforming the spirit, refining the spirit, returning to emptiness, and unifying with the Way. Only when one reaches the realm of unity with the Way and achieves great perfection can they pass the heavenly test and withstand the six-nine heavenly tribulations to be ranked among the immortals.

  From the Nascent Soul stage onwards, cultivators will enter a whole new domain. Unlike the previous four major realms, in the latter four major realms, the height of the realm is no longer the decisive factor in determining the strength of the cultivator. At this point, the key to winning or losing a battle lies more in the "magnitude" of the cultivator himself. The difference in strength between each major realm from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul can be said to be like heaven and earth. If a high-level cultivator wants to kill a low-level cultivator, it's as easy as crushing an ant! However, from the Nascent Soul stage onwards, all techniques are based on the "magnitude" of the yuanqi. The stronger the technique, the more yuanqi is required to cast it. When learning techniques is no longer restricted by realms but rather by whether there is enough "magnitude" to learn, the same technique will also have different powers due to differences in the cultivator's "magnitude". Under this premise, it is possible for two extremes of the same realm to be greatly divided, and for a Nascent Soul cultivator with extremely large "magnitude" to fight against a Refining Spirit cultivator with extremely small "magnitude", and the Nascent Soul cultivator may win.

  Nature, if the boundary difference is too large, then the higher boundary cultivator is still more powerful. After all, every time a major boundary is broken through, the "degree of magnitude" will increase by millions or even tens of millions of times. Even the "degree of magnitude" of a Zǐ Fú Huà Shén (Purple Symbol Transformation Spirit) cultivator cannot compare to that of a Hóng Fú Liàn Shén (Red Symbol Refining Spirit) period cultivator, let alone the two boundaries of Liàn Shén (Refining Spirit) and Huí Xū (Returning Void) which have an unbridgeable chasm between them!

  All cultivators in the Jie Dan stage have a lifespan of around 150,000 years. If they cultivate to the Lian Shen stage, their lifespan increases to 210,000 years. When they reach the Huan Yu stage, it is a small watershed. Cultivators at this level not only increase their "degree" by tens of millions of times, but also need to pass through the 49 Heavenly Calamities, and their lifespan can be extended to 500,000 years. As for the final He Dao stage, the lifespan is as long as one million years, but those who can cultivate to this level are extremely rare. Currently, there are no more than five people in the Dong Ji realm, and the realm master Mo Chui is one of them.

  Alas, having a hundred thousand years of life is still not eternal. The more one cultivates the Tao, the more difficult and perilous it becomes. Breaking through each realm requires immense effort and opportunity, and if one is trapped, it may take tens of thousands of years. It tests both strength and endurance, and due to the "degree" reason, the Xianling Realm will make the principle of strong power even more thorough.

  Nowadays, the four major realms of gongfa all emphasize the cultivation of foundation and "degree", a good gongfa can stabilize the foundation more firmly, and the cultivation also takes longer.

  After finishing the information about Xian Tian's cultivation, Xiao Yao let out a soft sigh and threw away the jade slip in her hand. In her mind, for some reason, she recalled the nine great teachings of the ancient times recorded in "The Record of the Foolish Words": Respect the Tao and value virtue, The immortal way values life, Clear and calm with few desires, Natural and effortless, Soft and weak without contention, Returning to simplicity and truth, Heaven and man united as one, Bearing the burden of heaven's way, Cultivating both nature and destiny. It was also these nine great teachings that allowed her to benefit greatly on her immortal journey, some of which she even revered as treasures of the immortal way.

  As time passed, from the mortal world to the fairy spirit realm, she increasingly felt that cultivating in the present world was far removed from ancient times. In ancient times, cultivators sought both spiritual and physical cultivation, with a greater emphasis on the latter. There is a saying: "The Dao begins with the body, the body precedes life, only through cultivating the supreme heart of the Dao can one guide the supreme power of the law." However, nowadays the immortal cultivation world seems to be more inclined towards cultivating life, families and sects only pass down methods for cultivating life but no one guides the cultivation of moral character. The loss of balance in the Dao has given rise to today's world dominated by brute force.

  No one knows the pros and cons of such a change, but in Xiao Yao's heart, it is clear that she herself tends to the ancient doctrine. If possible, she hopes to be able to cultivate in an ancient atmosphere, quietly contemplating the heavens and earth, carefree and at ease. Unfortunately, she has no right to choose; since she lives in this unbalanced world, she can only follow the rules, also insisting on her own pursuit of doctrine, absolutely not compromising! Here, the weak have no freedom to speak of!

  In the study, Baoz felt that Xiao Yao's breath seemed to have changed, and he couldn't help but glance at her. However, he saw that she was empty-handed, lost in thought, so he asked aloud: "Have you found the method?"

  Xiao Yao paused for a moment, then randomly pulled out two books of kung fu from the bookshelf beside him and threw them at it, saying: "Take a look at these two, if they're okay, I'll take them out to print."

  "Whatever, it's all trash skills anyway, the difference won't be that big. But you... I seem to have felt that your cultivation has improved again just now."

  "Ah," Xiao Yao admitted, "it's just a sudden realization."

  "Heh," the leopard gazed at her with a thoughtful expression, "It's been many times already, I've always thought that you humans are quite strange. Your physical bodies are weak and your lifespan is short, yet you can increase your cultivation without relying on martial arts training. It's unclear whether you're weak or strong."

  Xiao Yao continued to search through the bookshelves, saying casually: "The mind of the Tao is something that with your current brain, you're probably never going to understand."

  The leopard retorted indifferently: "You're just overthinking, wasting a lot of energy on trivial matters, resulting in only one or two being able to ascend."

  After finishing speaking, he didn't see Xiao Yao respond for a long time. He saw her intently searching through the bookshelf, and Baozi also felt very bored, so he lay down on her shoulder again and closed his eyes.

  After leaving Shu Yuan, Xiao Yao not only copied two skill manuals but also copied a basic alchemy manual and returned to the cave mansion to study it slowly.

  When the jade slip came down, she finally knew why she had never been able to forge a spiritual artifact above grade 5 except for the foot bucket. In the Taiji world, as long as the properties of the materials do not conflict with each other, they can be forged together. The higher the quality of the material, the higher the grade of the artifact that will be forged. However, if you want to forge a spiritual artifact above grade 5, just having good materials is not enough, you must also have a furnace!

  The formula for the artifact is like the alchemy formula, recording the materials and special methods needed to forge an artifact. The higher the rank of the artifact, the more requirements there are for forging it, and it's not just a matter of randomly combining minerals and beast bones to create it. Moreover, the flame used to forge high-ranking artifacts also has its own rules, requiring the use of fire spirits. Only with the formula, unique precious materials, and finally using powerful fire spirits can one successfully forge an artifact. Furthermore, the spiritual materials in this realm are relatively abundant, and even a first-rate spirit artifact is not rare. Above that, there are copper-yellow rank, silver-white rank, and the ten most powerful divine artifacts known as the "Godly Artifacts".