65: Chapter 65 Mortal Realm and Spiritual Realm

Deep within Luoxia Valley, there were several independent courtyards specifically for True Disciples to live in. Naturally, Lin Qing was assigned one.

The courtyard walls were built from flat, light-white stones and were about ten feet high to ensure the privacy of the Disciples. The interior was paved with bluestone, and a two-story wooden building stood against the mountain at the back.

At this moment, Lin Qing was standing in the courtyard, practicing a low-grade Earth Rank fist technique he had recently acquired.

It had been exactly three days since he joined Luoxia Valley.

During these three days, Lin Qing spent almost all of his time in the Sect's Library Pavilion. He patiently flipped through a large number of books recording the continent's customs, territorial layout, and common knowledge of cultivation, piece by piece filling in the gaps in his understanding of this world.

This vast and boundless world was named the Canglan Continent.

The continent was immense, with no known end, and its territory was far beyond Lin Qing's imagination. On the continent, dynasties stood in great numbers and Sects were thousands-fold, constantly conquering and balancing each other in endless conflict.

Above the countless dynasties and Sects, there were ancient Immortal Sects and supreme Holy Lands standing atop the clouds. They held the reins of power over vast regions and looked down upon billions of common people, serving as the true Dominators of the entire continent.

The Luoxia Sect he was currently in was located within the territory of the East Xuanqing Province, under the jurisdiction of the Chuyun Immortal Sect.

His exact geographical location was Canglan Continent, East Xuanqing Province, Chuyun Immortal Sect, Beichen Empire, Tianhe Dynasty, Great Qi Dynasty, Qingzhou, Luoxia Valley.

Even within the Great Qi Dynasty, Luoxia Valley was only a mid-tier power.

After learning this information, Lin Qing couldn't help but feel emotional. As expected of a Xuanhuan world, the scale was grand and boundless.

At the same time, he also gained a preliminary understanding of the cultivation system of this world.

Martial cultivation was divided into two major stages: the Mortal Realm and the Spiritual Realm.

Stages one through four were collectively called the Mortal Realm. The core of cultivation was to rely on various Stance Trainings to polish the Physical Body and temper the physique day after day, laying a solid Foundation for the fifth stage's introduction of Spiritual Qi into the body.

When Lin Qing had first obtained the Innate Mysterious Fetus and drawn Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his body, his physical strength had already far exceeded that of ordinary Martial Artists. Thus, the entire process was seamless and did not cause the slightest discomfort.

In reality, the energy contained within Spiritual Qi was extremely terrifying for a Mortal. For ordinary people living in regions with dense Spiritual Qi, the thin, stray Spiritual Qi would subtly nourish their bodies, which could indeed prolong their lives and strengthen their physiques.

However, if one were to rashly and forcibly inhale Spiritual Qi into the body, that majestic energy would instantly burst through the Physical Body, ultimately causing a normal person to explode and die.

Of course, there were exceptions, such as when a powerful master with profound cultivation directly controlled the Spiritual Qi entering a low-level Martial Artist's body, performing delicate operations to temper the Physical Body with Spiritual Qi. This would not only prevent them from exploding but would also significantly increase their cultivation speed during the Mortal Realm.

When a Martial Artist's physical strength was sufficient and they opened their Divine Thought to step into the fifth stage, they officially entered the Spiritual Realm.

Spiritual Realm Cultivators no longer deliberately polished their Physical Bodies; the focus of cultivation shifted to the development and application of Spiritual Qi. However, during the cultivation process, as Spiritual Qi circulated within the body, there would also be a passive body-tempering effect.

Therefore, even if a fifth-stage Cultivator no longer trained their Physical Body, their body would still be stronger than that of a fourth-stage Martial Artist.

The fifth-stage Pulse Opening Realm was the first realm of the Spiritual Realm. It required the practitioner to use Divine Thought to guide Spiritual Qi to open up various Meridians within the body, paving the way for the future operation of Cultivation Techniques and the execution of spells.

Strictly speaking, the so-called Cultivation Techniques of the fifth stage could not be called true Cultivation Techniques; they could only be considered a type of Pulse Opening Method.

After the verification of countless Cultivators throughout the eternal ages of the Canglan Continent, there were only five types of pulse-opening paths in the world that could safely expand the Meridians, and no others.

The Pulse Opening Method was far more complex than the Mortal Realm's Stance Trainings. It could not be taught using simple drawings or paper scrolls; it had to be recorded in special Jade Slips and read using Divine Thought.

Furthermore, every Divine Thought Jade Slip had a limit on the number of times it could be read. Once the reading count was too high, the information stored within the Jade Slip would gradually blur or even disappear completely.

This also meant that even though the Pulse Opening Method was widely circulated, it still required a significant price to obtain.

Regrettably, there was no stock of Pulse Opening Methods in the Luoxia Valley Library Pavilion. Moreover, because the Pulse Opening Method was too complex, it was easy for deviations to occur if an average Cultivator recorded it themselves, so it was best to buy them from large merchant guilds.

However, blessings and misfortunes come together. While there were no Pulse Opening Methods, there was a large stock of martial arts techniques.

Martial arts could be directly recorded in paper books and could be repeatedly read and studied by countless people. As a mid-tier Sect, Luoxia Sect had a massive collection of martial arts stored in its Library Pavilion. As a True Disciple, Lin Qing naturally had the authority to view them.

However, there were no Heaven Rank martial arts. It was said that Heaven Rank martial arts were the limit of martial arts and no longer had distinctions between Advanced or low grades. Each one was precious and unique; even larger Sects would not allow people to view them at will.

Lin Qing collected a large number of low-grade and high-grade Earth Rank martial arts all at once, enough to raise his Physical Body control rating to high-grade Earth Rank.

Just as Lin Qing focused his mind and immersed himself in practicing the newly acquired low-grade Earth Rank fist technique in the small courtyard, a burst of rough and arrogant knocking broke the silence of the courtyard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The knocking was heavy and hurried, sounding not like a visit but more like a deliberate attempt to smash the door and provoke a fight, causing the wooden courtyard gate to tremble slightly.

Lin Qing, who was practicing, suddenly frowned. A sense of displeasure rose in his heart, and he quietly released his Divine Thought to cover the area outside the courtyard.

Standing outside the door was a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He wore the standard white Disciple robes of the Luoxia Sect, but through the fabric patterns and detailed decorations, one could see that he was also a True Disciple.

Lin Qing suppressed the irritation in his heart, walked to the courtyard gate, and pulled it open, his tone carrying obvious impatience:

“What is it?”

Yuan Heng looked Lin Qing up and down. Seeing the other party's youth and green appearance, his already arrogant expression became even more overbearing.

“Kid, I heard you've been getting very close to Senior Sister Yun Nian lately?” Yuan Heng crossed his arms and said coldly from a superior stance, “I'm warning you, stay away from her in the future.”

Hearing such childish and ridiculous remarks, Lin Qing instantly understood the other party's purpose. A cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth, and he faintly spat out two words.

“Dumbass.”

After speaking, he prepared to close the door and go back to continue his cultivation, not bothering to pay any attention to such an unreasonable person.

These words, however, pierced into Yuan Heng's heart like a sharp blade.

As one of the peerless geniuses of Luoxia Valley, Yuan Heng possessed extraordinary talent and was backed by Family Elders at the Elder level. Wherever he went, all Disciples treated him with the utmost respect. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Moreover, when he had loudly pounded on Lin Qing's gate just now, he had already attracted a large number of Disciples to watch. Lin Qing's insult was equivalent to trampling his face into the ground in front of everyone.

Anger instantly clouded his mind. The exasperated Yuan Heng attacked directly, his right hand lunging out to grab Lin Qing's collar, intending to forcibly drag him out and punish him.

However, how could a Martial Artist of this level be worthy of fighting Lin Qing?

Lin Qing lightly raised his left hand, precisely blocking Yuan Heng's wrist, and then gave it a flick. The powerful force sent Yuan Heng spinning half a circle on the spot.

Simultaneously, Lin Qing's right hand shot out like lightning, his five fingers forming a claw that gripped the back of the other's head, pressing down heavily!

Bang!

A dull, heavy sound rang out as Yuan Heng's entire face smashed into the ground. His flesh instantly became a bloody mess, making him look incredibly pathetic.

Lin Qing still held back.

Luoxia Valley had taken him in, which was a kindness to him at this time. Rashly killing a True Disciple of Luoxia Valley would not be good after all. Giving the opponent an unforgettable lesson was enough; there was no need to be completely ruthless.

He looked down at the Yuan Heng on the ground:

“You don't even have the qualification to die by my hand. Get lost.”

After saying that, Lin Qing turned around, preparing once again to return to the courtyard to continue his cultivation.

Yuan Heng, lying on the ground, struggled to turn his head. His eyes were filled with gloom and hatred as he growled through gritted teeth:

“Lin Qing, you just wait! This is definitely not over!”

Lin Qing's forward steps suddenly stopped.

He slowly turned back, his indifferent gaze falling on the other man, his cool voice echoing above the courtyard.

“Congratulations, you have earned the qualification.”