Spirit Realm Era of Contention for Immortality, Four Steps to Immortality, Eight Stages (Key Chapter, Do Not Skip Subscription)

This one sentence contains so much meaning.

Ning Qi had been vaguely puzzled before, wondering how the remaining people in the martial world could figure out the method related to the will of the world so quickly. Now, it seemed to make sense, and many thoughts were popping into his mind.

Before Ning Qi could think further...

The old tortoise continued:

"With the limited resources of your martial arts world, it's far too difficult to revive the world's will."

Ning Qi's eyes narrowed instantly:

"Your martial arts world?"

He grasped the key words.

The old tortoise chuckled and said:

"That's right. Strictly speaking, although I have lived in the martial arts world for so long, I am not one of you. Let me formally introduce myself. I come from the True Martial and am the Inheritance of the True Martial Sect's flame."

Ning Qi's breathing had unknowingly become sluggish.

All the confusion suddenly became clear.

No wonder he always felt that the True Martial Hall was somewhat detached from the world, even somewhat out of place in the martial arts realm. Just what he saw and heard in the True Martial Hall was unlike anything that should exist in the martial arts realm. It turned out that it came from another realm.

"Is the True Martial also a superior world like the Mountain and Sea Realm?" Ning Qi asked.

The old black tortoise's eyes held a hint of melancholy.

"That's right, but the correct statement is that both the True Martial and the Mountain and Sea Realm are spirit realms with perfect world rules, while your Martial Realm is a small world with flawed rules. The Mountain and Sea Realm is your superior world, but the True Martial is not your superior world."

A single sentence contains a wealth of information.

Ning Qi felt as if the world had suddenly become vast, and he realized that the world he was in was just a small world?

His heart was pounding, and he waited quietly for the old black tortoise to explain.

The old tortoise continued:

"The vastness of the Boundary Sea is beyond anyone's comprehension. Countless spirit realms rise and fall within it, their number immense. The rules of each spirit realm are perfect, and cultivators are as numerous as clouds. The strongest can defy the heavens and ascend to immortality. Beneath each spirit realm lies an unknown number of smaller worlds, each with varying degrees of incompleteness in its rules. If one reaches the limit, one can break through the boundary and ascend to the higher world corresponding to that smaller world."

Ning Qi's eyes lit up immediately.

"Immortals?! Is there an even stronger world above the Spirit Realm?"

He sought immortality, and now it seemed as if a scroll depicting immortality was slowly unfolding before his eyes, which excited him greatly.

There was also longing in the old black tortoise's eyes:

"The Immortal Realm! Above the Spirit Realm is the Immortal Realm Immortal Realm, where countless cultivators strive to ascend and attain the status of True Immortal! But..."

He changed the subject, saying regretfully:

"Countless eons ago, the Immortal Realm was lost, and since then, no one has ascended to immortality."

As he spoke, he added another sentence:

"An era is one million years."

Ning Qi remained silent.

A million years—what an incredibly long period of time! Even the schemes of countless ancient sages in the martial world spanned only tens of thousands of years. Compared to an era, it seems so short. And in the immortal Immortal Realm, which was lost countless eras ago, what an immortal existence it is!

He harbored both longing and regret in his heart:

Why was the Immortal Realm lost?

The old black tortoise clicked its tongue and said:

"No one knows, perhaps only a very few truly powerful ancient monsters from different eras know even a sliver of its secrets. After the fall of the Immortal Realm, the Era of Ascension to the Immortal Realm came to an end, and from then on..."

"The Era of the Spirit Realm's Struggle for Immortality!"

Ning Qi's spirits lifted.

No matter how wonderful the Immortal Realm is, it is still somewhat distant for him now. The most pressing issue right now is the threat from the Mountain and Sea Realm. He has a feeling that this era of the Spirit Realm's struggle for immortality is related to the current situation of the Martial Realm.

Those few words gave him a sense of impending bloodshed.

The old black tortoise sighed:

"The Immortal Realm has been lost, and no one can become True Immortal anymore. Even the strongest can only live for a maximum of one era. For us, an era is naturally extremely long, but for those powerful beings who aspire to become immortals, the hopeless path ahead is worse than death."

"But eventually, someone came up with a solution: raise the upper limit of the world. If the Spirit Realm cannot accommodate True Immortal, then raise the upper limit of the Spirit Realm until it is sufficient to accommodate True Immortal, and even stronger beings! It is even possible that one day it will become another supreme Immortal Realm!"

"But how do we raise the world's ceiling?"

"That is the Origin of devouring other worlds!"

Ning Qi's expression gradually calmed down.

Devouring the world's Origin sounds simple, but it's likely accompanied by countless killings. This is world invasion. He understood that this was the fundamental reason why the Mountain and Sea Realm invaded the Martial Realm. They wanted to devour the Martial Origin's origin. As for the original inhabitants of the Martial Realm, they were no different from ants to them.

It's not a matter of who's right or wrong.

It's nothing more than the survival of the fittest.

Ning Qi frowned and said:

How much can the Origin a small world like the Martial World help the Spirit World improve?

Although it is unknown how much stronger the Spirit Realm is than the Small World, the gap is estimated to be significant. The Martial Saint Zhan Tian once said that the powerful beings appearing outside the Martial Realm's heavenly curtain are even more terrifying than the will of the Martial Realm itself.

Xuan Gui chuckled:

"Even a small amount of meat is still meat. Quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes. After all, devouring other spirit realms is not so easy. Let alone finding the world coordinates, even if we do find them, it's uncertain which is stronger. One wrong move and we could fail."

"Devouring to lower-level worlds is much easier. The ascended beings in lower-level worlds bring their own coordinates. After releasing the life-poison, you can just sit back and reap the rewards. It doesn't take much time, and you can also set up multiple lower-level worlds at the same time. It's very safe and fast."

There was a hint of sarcasm in his laughter.

This description is very similar to the feeling of chives being harvested one crop after another.

As for those who ascended to immortality, their fate probably wouldn't be much better.

Ning Qi stopped in his tracks:

"The Spirit Realm is so powerful. Since they know the coordinates of the lower worlds, why not just send a top expert to sweep through them? Why go through all this trouble?"

The black tortoise shook its head and said:

"Naturally, there are limitations. Ascending from a lower world to a higher world only requires sufficient cultivation to open a world passage. However, even if a higher world knows the coordinates of a lower world, it cannot easily descend. This is the protection that the rules of the Boundary Sea provide for smaller worlds."

"Life-destroying poison is one of their methods. When life-destroying poison is fused into the Spiritual Qi of a lower-level world, it can weaken the resistance of that world and form anchor points. When it merges with Martial Saint- level expert, it can even form a Dao beacon. By combining internal and external forces, a world passage can be opened."

"Although this world passage only allows cultivators below the strongest combat power of a small world to pass through, it is still extremely terrifying."

"Think about it, a hundred or a thousand times more cultivators than those at the Martial Saint, each wielding stronger magical Law Artifact and cultivating more powerful Law Technique, would swarm across the land like locusts. What world could withstand that? They would be slaughtered almost instantly, becoming nourishment for the growth of the Spirit Realm along with the smaller worlds."

His tone was languid, as if he were already used to it.

Ning Qi couldn't help but imagine the horrifying scene of blood raining down from the sky:

"But the martial arts world has survived for tens of thousands of years..."

Xuan Gui chuckled silently:

"You don't think your martial arts world is weak, do you?"

"Let me tell you, the Martial World is actually the strongest of all the small worlds. The strongest among them is equivalent to the Law Power Realm of the Spirit World, which is what you call the Martial Saint. Moreover, their world will has awakened, which is extremely rare. There might not be even one like you in a million small worlds."

"Do you know that the strongest beings in many small worlds are only at the level of your Celestial Person Realm warriors, and some are even only at the Yuan Pill Realm? Their world rules are terrifyingly incomplete, and even if there is Spiritual Qi, it cannot accommodate powerful individuals. Some small worlds are even Spiritual Qi wastelands."

Ning Qi was somewhat taken aback.

That's far too weak; he can suppress a large group with just a wave of his hand.

Thinking about it this way, I guess I was lucky to be reincarnated into the martial arts world?

As the two stepped through the gates of the main hall, a garden came into view, filled with all sorts of rare and exotic herbs and flowers, exuding an alluring fragrance. Any one of them would be enough to cause a frenzy among martial artists from the outside world.

The black tortoise continued to laugh:

"Of course, another reason why the martial world was able to survive for tens of thousands of years is the existence of the True Martial Hall."

"Otherwise, the deadly poison alone would be enough to give you a run for your money, let alone survive the subsequent invasion and your plans."

Ning Qi nodded.

He has now figured out the cause and effect.

But at the same time, he also had more questions.

I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, senior colleague.

"Ask away."

Ning Qi's eyes held a look of anticipation:

"I've heard you mention the Law Power Realm before, senior. May I ask if this is part of the cultivation system in the Spirit Realm?"

The old tortoise thought for a moment and said:

"Very well, your temperament is extraordinary, so telling you won't hurt."

"Over countless eons, this system of immortal cultivation has become widespread in almost every spirit realm, namely the four steps and eight realms of ascension to immortality!"

Ning Qi held his breath.

The old tortoise continued:

"The so-called four steps are: refining essence into qi, refining qi into Spirit Transformation, Spirit Refinement into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao. The next step is to step into the realm of immortal True Immortal!"

"And if we divide it further, it becomes eight realms."

"The Refining of Essence into Qi is divided into two realms: Acquired and Perception. The former cultivates the essence of the human body, while the latter senses the Qi of heaven and earth. In terms of corresponding to the cultivation system of the martial world, the Acquired realm corresponds to the cultivation before the Yuan Pill Realm, while the Perception realm is similar to the Celestial Person Realm."

"The Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation includes two realms: Law Power and Purple Mansion. The Law Power realm refines Spiritual Qi into Law Power, corresponding to your Martial Saint. The Purple Mansion realm is opened by condensing one's innate divine Divine Ability, corresponding to your Divine Ability realm of breaking through realms and ascending. However, strictly speaking, the Divine Ability realm is not a complete Purple Mansion realm and needs further refinement."

Ning Qi listened intently, feeling as if a door to a new world was opening for him.

"Spirit Refinement and returning to the void encompasses the two realms of Primordial Spirit and the void path."

"Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao encompasses two realms: Uniting with the Body and Uniting with the Dao."

"Cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm are the most powerful cultivators that the Spirit Realm can accommodate, with lifespans reaching one era! However, that was in the past. Now, there are definitely powerful Spirit Realms that have broken through the limits, and True Immortal have been born."

A ripple of emotion stirred within Ning Qi.

Although the Immortal Realm has been lost, this is still a path that leads to immortality and the attainment of True Immortal.

For the first time, he had such a clear direction.

Suppress the restlessness in your heart.

Ning Qi took a deep breath and asked again:

"Since you and the True Martial Hall come from the True Martial, why have you come to the Martial Realm?"

The old man paused slightly, and after a moment he slowly spoke:

"Because the True Martial no longer exists."

Ning Qi's eyes showed some apology, but before he could speak, the old man waved his hand and said:

"It's alright, that happened a long time ago. The strongest overlord in the True Martial was the True Martial, and I came from there. Back then, I was just an egg with only a vague consciousness, and I vaguely sensed an amazing battle breaking out."

"Then a mark told me that from this day forward, I would be the Inheritance of the True Martial Sect's flame. I wandered aimlessly in the Boundary Sea for an unknown amount of time, and the True Martial Hall's power was almost exhausted. In order to evade pursuit, it finally exhausted its remaining strength and fell into the Martial World. And I was born here. In a sense, I am also half a person of the Martial World."

As he spoke, a bitter expression and a sense of helplessness towards fate appeared on his face:

"After receiving partial memory implantation, I learned that the True Martial was destroyed by the Mountain and Sea Realm."

If he had been born normally in the True Martial, his strength would be far greater than it is now.

But fate is fickle.

Now we're trapped in this cage, unable to escape.

Unable to ascend, and with the True Martial Hall also damaged, it lost the ability to travel between worlds.

He and the martial world are now interdependent; if the martial world's Origin is devoured by the Mountain and Sea Realm, the True Martial Inheritance will be completely severed.

"They were also eggs like mine back then, and they hatched one after another. But they are different from me. I am the Inheritance the True Martial Sect's flame, and I can set foot in the True Martial Hall. They, on the other hand, cannot even step out of the True Martial Hall and are not free."

The old black tortoise looked at the Spirit Beast that appeared and disappeared in the White Mist, feeling some pity and regret.

Being deprived of freedom is indeed terrifying.

Ning Qi bowed respectfully:

"Thank you for your explanation, senior."

By this time, he had fully understood what had happened in High Antiquity times.

He digested the information he had learned today. It was so comprehensive that it greatly broadened his horizons. Although a crisis was approaching, at least he knew the cause and effect and wouldn't wander around like a headless fly.

The two continued walking and finally stopped in front of the magnificent True Martial Hall. Seeing it again, Ning Qi was still as shocked as ever, especially now that he knew the origin of the True Martial Hall. If he was not mistaken, the True Martial Hall should have originally been an extremely powerful treasure.

The doors of the main hall opened automatically, and light engulfed the two of them.

When the light faded, only a golden portal stood alone; the silver and bronze portals from before had vanished without a trace.

"The other two gates are tests I set up, but this one is the true test of the True Martial Inheritance. Now, you should understand why I made you come back again after reaching the Martial Saint."

Ning Qi nodded.

He had already guessed it.

The hunchbacked old man's poignant voice echoed in the True Martial Hall:

"Since my birth, the True Martial Hall has selected one exceptionally talented martial artist after another from your martial arts world to undergo the trials, but without exception, they have all failed. Your appearance, however, has given me the last glimmer of hope."

"Young Ning, your talent and comprehension are unprecedented. At only thirteen years old, you have already achieved so much. Throughout history, no one can match you."

His eyes were filled with deep expectation and hope:

"Perhaps you can successfully pass the True Martial Hall's assessment and obtain the Inheritance of the True Martial Sect!"

"At that time, perhaps we can find a way to break the deadlock."