It's All the Same

"What are you talking about?" Wei Suo said weakly, exhausted. If he hadn't felt that the Green Robe Old Man actually had some skill, he wouldn't have bothered to speak at all.

The Green Robe Old Man glanced at Wei Suo. "You kept mentioning Spirit Stones earlier. What exactly are these Spirit Stones?"

"Spirit Stones are a type of crystal stone that contains spiritual energy. Cultivators can absorb the spiritual energy within to cultivate, similar to refining Demonic Cores. However, the spiritual energy inside is relatively pure and doesn't need to be made into elixirs to be used, unlike Demonic Cores. So, they are the hard currency in the Cultivation World now. They are divided into three grades based on their quality, with the highest grade having the most spiritual energy and the lowest grade having the least. What, you didn't have Spirit Stones back then? That's impossible, right?" Wei Suo said suspiciously.

"There are actually such Spirit Stones? But what's impossible about that? Many things from tens of thousands of years ago are gone now, and it's not uncommon for things that exist now to not have existed one or two ten thousand years ago. Let alone anything else, your current Cultivation Techniques must be different compared to when my last master died over ten thousand years ago." The Green Robe Old Man looked at Wei Suo as if he were a country bumpkin. "Believe it or not, tell me about your current Cultivation Techniques, roughly what are they like, and how many layers do they have?"

"There are countless Cultivation Techniques. They are divided into four grades and twelve tiers: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, based on their quality. As for realms, they are the Sea of Consciousness Realm, Circulation Realm, Mind Splitting Realm, Golden Core Realm, Divine Profound Realm, and True Immortal Realm. What were they like over ten thousand years ago?"

"...They were the same."

"Damn it, then you said it would definitely be different!"

"But if you go back further, it was indeed different. For example, Cultivation Techniques from tens of thousands of years ago only focused on cultivating a single Vital Energy cultivation method. Fire-elemental spells had matching Fire Vital Energy cultivation techniques, and those who cultivated Fire Vital Energy cultivation techniques could not use other spells. Unlike current Cultivation Techniques, as long as your true essence and magical power are sufficient, you can use most spells."

"No way? Green-Haired Old Ghost, you're not just making things up, are you?"

"Am I making things up? You're just too ignorant. Many of the Cultivation Techniques in the current Cultivation World were inspired and derived from the techniques of a Great Power from back then. Only that Great Power's techniques could be used with any other elemental energy spells. The Sky Dome Wall outside the seven continents was also created by that Great Power's spell back then."

"I think I've heard of that." Wei Suo's spirits lifted a bit. The Lingyue City where he was located was a remote small city on the Tianxuan Continent. The closest continent to the Tianxuan Continent was said to be the Cloud Spirit Continent. Between the two continents lay the Desolate Plains, an unknown distance away. Only a few major cities had interconnected Teleportation Arrays. Although Wei Suo had never even been to those major cities, Lingyue City was on the edge of the Tianxuan Continent, and Wei Suo had specifically gone to admire the Sky Dome Wall, which could be viewed without payment.

It was a white light screen like a city wall, stretching and encircling the entire continent. The naked eye couldn't see how high it was; it seemed to connect directly to the heavens. It was said that powerful cultivators who reached the Golden Core Realm could fly up but couldn't see the end, far above the height that Golden Core Realm cultivators could reach. What was most peculiar was that for cultivators, this white light screen was harmless; passing through it was like passing through a layer of water ripples. However, if outside demonic beasts tried to enter the continent, they would be repelled upon touching the Sky Dome Wall, and the force they used to collide with the Sky Dome Wall would result in an equal backlash.

The number of demonic beasts in the Desolate Plains outside the Sky Dome Wall was extremely astonishing. Without the obstruction of the Sky Dome Wall, the cultivators on the continent might not be a match for the demonic beasts. However, over tens of thousands of years, it was said that some parts of the Sky Dome Wall had developed cracks. Although powerful demonic beasts that entered through these cracks were later killed by the major powers on the continent, and many cracks were guarded by major powers once discovered, many demonic beasts below the fourth rank, with weak magical fluctuations, had already reproduced within the continent. Now, in the wilderness outside the cities of the Tianxuan Continent, some places had a very large number of demonic beasts.

Legend had it that the Sky Dome Wall, which enveloped all seven continents of the world, was created by an ancient Great Power with astonishing magical power. Wei Suo knew nothing about the specifics.

"Since you don't know anything, I'll tell you a bit more. In the very beginning, there were countless spiritual veins in the Cultivation World, and cultivators mostly relied on directly absorbing the spiritual energy from the spiritual veins. There weren't so many demonic beasts in the world." The Green Robe Old Man said, "Later, a powerful opponent of that Great Power fought with him, causing mountains to collapse and the earth to split. Not only did the world divide into seven continents, but many stars also fell, and many spatial rifts opened, almost completely extinguishing all the spiritual veins in the world. Later, to prevent the entire world from falling into the hands of demonic beasts, that Great Power used his astonishing magical power to encircle the seven continents with nine Sky Dome Walls. The subsequent spells and cultivation methods also gradually evolved, and people could basically only rely on Spiritual Herbs and Demonic Cores for cultivation."

"Right, what level of Cultivation Techniques do you practice, and what is your cultivation level?" After speaking, the Green Robe Old Man suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Wei Suo.

Wei Suo's old face blushed slightly. "The Purple Profound True Art I practice is a low-tier Profound-grade Cultivation Technique, and my current cultivation is at the second level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm."

The Green Robe Old Man showed no surprise and pondered for a moment. "Tell me about some of the more common Spiritual Herbs and demonic beasts you have now, including those you consider useless."

"Common demonic beasts include the Red Scale Poisonous Snake, Five-Colored Centipede, Black Fire Rock Turtle, Crimson Yuan Beetle... Common Spiritual Herbs include Small Mist Grass, Iron Wire Grass, Glazed Fruit..." Wei Suo spent a full half hour, thinking and speaking, to roughly describe the common things in his mind. Fortunately, Wei Suo had been extremely poor since he started cultivating, so he remembered anything of value and didn't miss anything when he went out to hunt. Therefore, he remembered quite a lot of things. If it were that prodigal, stunningly beautiful young lady, she probably could have listed a few dozen at most.

"And who is this woman?" After listening, the Green Robe Old Man pointed to the paintings of beautiful women hanging on the wall and asked.

"Damn it, Green-Haired Old Man, are you ever going to stop? What's the point of asking this?" Wei Suo, who was eagerly waiting for the Green Robe Old Man to reveal something valuable, was greatly disappointed and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Answer my last question first, and you'll naturally benefit." The Green Robe Old Man looked at Wei Suo.

"She is a female disciple of Ye Xuancheng, the Sect Master of the Xuanfeng Sect. She is powerful and beautiful, and many people want her as their wife. Many people join the Xuanfeng Sect after seeing her portrait. Is that clear enough?" Wei Suo said quickly, looking at the Green Robe Old Man. "Alright, tell me, what are the benefits?"

"How about we make a deal? You help me solidify my form, and I'll help you cultivate." The Green Robe Old Man squinted at Wei Suo. "I won't dare to promise too much, but I should have a good chance of helping you cultivate to the Golden Core Realm, and even pursuing this Shui Ling'er."