Chen Yan soon realized something.
The cultivation methods of the nine realms below ascension and the five realms above ascension were entirely different.
From Body Tempering to Qi Condensation, then from Qi Condensation to Martial Spring, followed by Qi Sea, Divine Communion... including the later Divine Ability, Dao Union, and even Ascension Realms, cultivation was itself a process in which quantitative changes brought about qualitative transformation.
But the immortal ascendant realm was different.
There were no shortcuts, yet shortcuts were everywhere.
Because every cultivator in the immortal ascendant realm walked a completely different path, one belonging to them alone.
Just moments ago, Qin Qingyu had still been very, very far from the true purity realm.
Yet as Chen Yan watched through the time turbulence, she became a sage in an instant.
Sudden enlightenment?
That was certainly possible. Talent would forever be the most insurmountable chasm along the long path of immortality.
Some squandered a hundred years and remained Qi Condensation cultivators, while others soared straight into the heavens after comprehending the Dao.
Of course, far more were ordinary people without any talent at all.
But had Qin Qingyu's talent truly reached such heights?
Becoming a sage through sudden enlightenment!
Never mind Shen Xuanwei or Yin Ji—even Heavenly Monarch Qingluo and the Purple Mansion Heavenly Monarch probably could not accomplish such a feat.
That also pointed to another possibility.
The bronze mirror in Qin Qingyu's hand.
The Dao artifact, the Tian Ding Mirror.
Chen Yan had once had considerable history with that mirror himself.
To a certain extent, the Tian Ding Mirror could construct illusory realms.
No, perhaps they weren't illusory realms at all.
After all, the Tian Ding Mirror was a Dao artifact, and in some respects, a Dao artifact's rank was closer to the void creation realm than the