The Four Realms of Cultivation

"What should I do?"

Lu Chuan sat on his meditation cushion, deep in thought, his expression shifting between light and dark.

After a long while.

"I can only keep my head down and grow stronger. What else can I do?"

Lu Chuan shook his head, a faint, helpless smile on his face.

Even the gods and immortals couldn't escape this great calamity. There was no avoiding it. What could a tiny mortal like him do?

Nothing at all!

Lu Chuan sighed softly to himself. He knew exactly where he stood and what he was capable of.

He was just a mortal.

And among mortals, he wasn't some master of martial arts or some high-ranking, illustrious figure. He was nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable nobody.

The only thing setting him apart from other mortals was perhaps the memories of his past life and his knowledge of certain events to come.

That was his only advantage.

But what good was knowing the future? He still couldn't do anything, could he?

Besides, he was even more worried that if he changed certain things, he might ruin someone else's plans and be snuffed out by his grandmaster, whom he had never even met.

With his grandmaster's abilities, killing him without anyone knowing would surely be no harder than crushing an ant.

"So... perhaps letting things take their course is the best choice I have right now."

At that thought, Lu Chuan suddenly understood. "Rather than spending my time worrying about what might happen in the future, I'd be better off making the most of the time I have to cultivate and improve my strength. That way, I'll at least be able to protect myself later."

He glanced toward the room Shen Gongbao had entered. The door was still shut tight.

It was clear Shen Gongbao was angry that he'd urged him to give up taking charge of the List of Conferred Gods. So...

Lu Chuan's gaze grew complicated, and he sighed inwardly. Master, with the advice I gave you today, I've done all I could as your disciple...

From now on, he, Lu Chuan, wouldn't try to dissuade Shen Gongbao again.

For one thing, he wasn't stubborn or blindly loyal. He knew Shen Gongbao was set on this, and that no one could talk him out of it. Why keep trying and make a nuisance of himself?

For another, if he said any more, disaster might well come crashing down on him, Lu.

After sitting for a while, Lu Chuan rose from his cushion and tidied the courtyard. After all, this would be his home from now on.

The courtyard was neither especially large nor small; there was plenty of room for two people to live comfortably. The ground was paved with bluestone slabs.

Once he was done, Lu Chuan glanced at Shen Gongbao's door. It was still firmly shut, so he could only shake his head, walk over, and kneel down.

"Master, your disciple knows he was wrong. Aside from martial arts and Daoist arts, I'm also willing to learn your art of war."

Lu Chuan raised his voice. "From now on, I'll devote all my strength to helping you support a wise ruler, win achievements that will endure through the ages, and earn an everlasting name..."

In Investiture of the Gods, if anything was more wondrous than the powerful magic treasures, it was the strange and varied Daoist arts.

Many mortal generals of Yin Shang had secret techniques taught to them by unusual masters. Most of these were connected to the Interception Sect, and their powers were as bizarre as they were formidable.

Besides, the disciples of the Exposition Sect were not only skilled in martial arts; each had their own unique secret techniques as well.

There was Nezha, whose lotus body had no soul; Lei Zhenzi, who had a pair of wings growing from his back; Yang Jian, who knew the Eight-Nine Profound Art; and the underground operative Tu Xingsun...

In this world, if Lu Chuan went out without a magic treasure or Daoist art to protect him, he wouldn't even have the nerve to show his face.

Inside the room.

Shen Gongbao sat beside a low table, reading a military text written on bamboo slips. When he heard Lu Chuan's voice, he glanced toward the door.

Then he smiled faintly and went back to reading.

Lu Chuan's aptitude was quite good—somewhere between above average and excellent—and Shen Gongbao was very fond of him.

Of course, he had also meant to give Lu Chuan a chance at worldly riches.

After all, attaining the Immortal Path was difficult and fraught with tribulations. Lu Chuan might never achieve his wish, so he might as well seek wealth and honor in the mortal world. At least that way, their time as master and disciple wouldn't have been for nothing.

But Shen Gongbao hadn't expected the boy to be so ungrateful. Instead, he'd tried to talk him out of taking charge of the List of Conferred Gods and told him not to care about fame or fortune...

But was Shen Gongbao the sort of person who cared about fame, fortune, and riches?

If he couldn't even let go of those things, how could he attain the Dao and become an immortal? There were, in fact, three reasons he was so intent on taking charge of the List of Conferred Gods.

First, he wanted a chance to put his knowledge of governing a nation and bringing peace to the land into practice, assist a wise ruler, and bring prosperity to the people.

That way, all he had learned wouldn't rot away unused inside him, and he'd also earn great merit. What was there not to like?

Second, these methods of governing a nation, bringing peace to the land, and leading troops in battle hadn't been taught to him by Yuanshi. He had picked them up through self-study in his spare time, whenever the mood struck him.

But he had studied too many subjects, and they had taken time away from his cultivation. Yuanshi thought he was putting the cart before the horse, and Shen Gongbao had also sensed that Yuanshi had grown somewhat displeased with him.

So this was his chance to prove to his master that all those things he had studied were useful. If he pulled it off beautifully, wouldn't it bring Yuanshi great honor throughout the Three Realms?

And third, apart from him, who else in the entire Exposition Sect could take on such an important responsibility?

By now, many of his junior sect brothers believed he was the only suitable candidate and had already congratulated him in advance. If someone else were given the task, wouldn't that mean there was someone even better than him?

After Lu Chuan finished speaking, he waited a long time, but no answer came.

With no other choice, he could only kneel there obediently.

He knelt like that for a whole hour, until his legs went numb and he could no longer feel them. At last, the door creaked open, and someone came out.

"Ah, what a fine day. I slept like a log!"

Shen Gongbao opened the door and stretched. Then he looked surprised. "Huh? Disciple, why are you kneeling here? The ground is cold. Hurry and get up..."

What an act!

Keep acting!

Lu Chuan looked up at Shen Gongbao.

He had to admit, the act was convincing.

An honest disciple might really have been fooled by that expression. But him? Hmph...

"Thank you, Master!"

Lu Chuan wore an "grateful" expression.

Soon.

By midday, Shen Gongbao had Lu Chuan begin cultivating again.

Qi Refiners didn't use the cultivation system commonly found in novels, with Golden Elixirs and Nascent Souls. Instead, they followed the path of cultivating the Dao and refining Qi, which consisted of four stages: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness, and Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao!

The first three stages made it clear that Qi Refiners focused on cultivating the body's three treasures—essence, qi, and spirit—strengthening them until they united to form the primordial spirit.

At that point, the outer body returned to its innate state, while inner cultivation refined all the true yin within the primordial spirit, achieving a Pure Yang spirit.

These were the three great realms known as Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, and Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness.

The final stage was Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao.

This stage meant that one's cultivation had reached the required level. There was no more need to cultivate. Instead, one had to enter the world, perform good deeds, and accumulate enough merit before one could attain the Dao and become an immortal.