Yu Ke recalled the current cultivation realms.
The initial realm was called the [First Heavenly Ladder].
It was also respectfully known as "Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering." Different sects called it by different names, such as meditative concentration, qi refinement, Nourish the Vast Righteousness, and so on.
Though the paths differed, they led to the same destination: guiding the spiritual qi between heaven and earth into one's body to strengthen oneself.
One had to weave every wisp of spiritual qi, fine as threads, into every aperture throughout the body. Only after filling nine streams of spiritual qi could one be considered complete.
Geniuses achieved it in a month, while ordinary people needed half a year.
The previous owner had taken more than five months, placing his talent somewhere in the middle.
The second realm was also called the Body Cleansing Realm.
One drew in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to scour the body's meridians and clear its apertures, tempering the tendons and bones to make them tougher, thereby achieving marrow cleansing, bone forging, and a complete rebirth.
There were three Mystic Manifestations:
[Gold Muscle and Jade Meridians], [Copper Skin and Iron Bones], [Mercury Blood and Silver Marrow].
However!
To attain all three at once was harder than climbing to heaven.
The previous owner had taken potent medicines since childhood and laid a solid foundation, allowing him to cultivate [Gold Muscle and Jade Meridians].
One had to know!
Within the Outer Sect, cultivating [Gold Muscle and Jade Meridians] was already exceedingly rare.
It was also what had given the previous owner confidence in reaching Foundation Establishment.
The result... better not talk about the result.
Heartbreaking!
Yu Ke left his room at this moment.
This was also the first time he had stepped out of the courtyard since coming to this world.
There was not the slightest unease in him. Instead, he was filled with curiosity.
Jade Balance Mountain.
Stretching tens of thousands of li from east to west, it was famed for its beautiful and magnificent scenery.
Like a colossal dragon lying sprawled across the land, its peaks rose and fell in endless layers.
The Divine Firmament Sect had established itself upon this mountain.
Yu Ke raised his head toward the mountaintop, where clouds and mist churned, obscuring everything from view. That was where the Inner Sect stood, the gathering place of the sect's elite.
The mountainside, meanwhile, housed the Outer Disciples. They cultivated diligently, hoping that one day they could squeeze into the Inner Sect.
Yu Ke was one of them.
"Even after transmigrating, I still have to grind!"
At the foot of the mountain were the Servant Disciples, who dreamed of becoming Outer Disciples.
The hierarchy was quite distinct.
Within these vast, boundless mountain ranges stood marketplaces large and small. Some buildings clung to the mountainsides, while others hid deep within valleys.
All of them belonged to the Divine Firmament Sect.
As Yu Ke walked along, his eyes were opened wide.
The place buzzed with voices, as though he had stepped into a bustling market.
He could not help comparing it to the commercial street by his university town in his memories.
There were no milk tea shops, phone stores, restaurants, or hotpot joints lining the long streets.
Instead, a somewhat chaotic clamor filled his ears.
"Fine secondhand flying sword! Minor flaws! Certified first-owner female immortal! Quality guaranteed!"
"The latest style of dharma robe, made from rare materials with a unique design!"
"Buying demon cores! Condensed essence from century-old demon beasts, treasures for cultivation!"
"Selling pet beasts..."
The hawkers' cries truly had everything one could want.
He looked around, seemingly searching for the traces most familiar to him.
In his previous life, there would definitely have been one in the most conspicuous street corner—
"Foot baths, Thai-style, nourish—"
That man lying on the bed in little blue cloth shorts, pricking up his ears to listen to the click of high heels outside the door and praying that the person entering would be a...
Sigh, in the blink of an eye, all had changed!
Yu Ke strolled at his leisure, and by then it was already dusk.
Immortal Delicacy Residence was quite famous in the Outer Sect, so he found it without much trouble.
It was the grandest landmark in the area, thirteen stories tall and imposing beyond measure.
As the floors rose, so did the prices. The top floor in particular supposedly required a minimum spending of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones for a single night.
Utterly extravagant!
Within the Outer Sect, only high-ranking elders and a handful of well-off disciples could afford to spend money on the thirteenth floor.
Yu Ke stood before the lofty, resplendent first-floor hall.
He straightened his robes. A little apprehensive, he drew a deep breath and stepped inside.
He was not worried that the banquet would be anything but a good one!
Just don't tell him he had to split the bill when it was time to leave.
He entered the eighth floor.
Naturally, there was no need to climb the stairs. A cleverly designed mechanism, much like an elevator, effortlessly carried him upward.
Yu Ke was astonished inside, but his expression remained calm and unhurried.
"The productivity in a cultivation world really is different."
He had not seen any electrical devices. Instead, faint spiritual qi rippled through the air, involving certain runes that touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge.
The eighth floor had winding corridors, much like private rooms.
A maid led Yu Ke to a door.
Yu Ke thanked her.
He gently pushed open the door, and the sight before him was completely different from what he had expected.
The space was immensely vast!
It was like an estate.
A stream had been dug into the floor, live fish swimming within.
Above it were little bridges and flowing water, with an arched bridge spanning the stream as mist curled through the air.
Qin and se music echoed together in gentle harmony, while dancing girls whirled gracefully.
A feeling of serenity, elegance, comfort, and ethereal beauty washed over him.
Yu Ke could not help thinking of some Big Brother Liu surname: keep the music playing, keep...
At this moment!
Quite a few people had already gathered in the hall, all Outer Disciples of the Divine Firmament Sect.
Yu Ke looked around and found that most of them were familiar faces, old acquaintances.
His friend Zhou Liang was already waving at him.
Yet at the center of the crowd stood a woman in green, exceptionally eye-catching.
Yu Ke had never seen her in his memories.
She was perhaps sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, graceful and exceptionally beautiful. Her face was smooth as goose fat, her lips like painted cherries, her eyes like autumn waters.
Clad in an emerald dress, she resembled jade-green lotuses struck by rain and a lone mountain veiled in thin mist, beautiful enough to steal one's breath.
Like a pearl in the room, she was surrounded by the others as though stars were paying homage to the moon.
Even the conversations vaguely revolved around her, everyone lowering their heads ever so slightly before her.
Seeing this, Yu Ke could not help reaching an understanding.
"Senior Brother Yu, you're here. Hurry and take a seat."
"Senior Brother Yu, long time no see."
"Junior Brother Yu, you came too."
As Yu Ke entered, quite a few people rose to greet him.
Yu Ke did not dare act too grandly and responded to each of them in turn.
"Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Chu, Senior Brother Gu Yue."
"And Zhou Liang, you brat."
The woman in green also looked toward Yu Ke with the others. Her beautiful eyes shone with lively charm, and a faint glow like luminescent jade lingered between her brows.
Yu Ke's gaze settled on Zhou Liang, whom he knew best.
"Senior Brother Zhou, I seem not to have met this fairy before. Sorry for the trouble, Junior Brother, but please introduce her."
Without a doubt!
The focus of this banquet was precisely this woman in green.
That she could draw so many people here showed how much influence she possessed within the Outer Sect.
Everyone present, Yu Ke included, shared a common identity—disciples from Aristocratic Clans of the Great Zhou Divine Kingdom.
Across the lands of Lei Province stood six great powers.
Among them, the Great Zhou Divine Kingdom ranked third.
In the southeast of the continent lay five provinces, including Lei Province, Tai Province, and Qing Prefecture. Together, their twenty cultivation dynasties all stood under the Divine Firmament Sect's protection and jurisdiction.
The Divine Firmament Sect was a true colossal existence.
This was an era in which dynasties and sects ruled the realm together.
Yet behind it all, the sects, with their profound foundations and unmatched strength, were the true helmsmen.
The identity of Great Zhou Dynasty Aristocratic Clan descendants was like an invisible bond, tightly linking them together into a group.
However!
Even among these great Aristocratic Clans, circumstances varied.
For example, the Luoshui Yu Clan to which Yu Ke belonged had declined somewhat in recent years, though it still retained an Aristocratic Clan's foundations.
Likewise, quite a few people present came from humble households whose families had already fallen, yet their ancestors had once been prosperous as well.
Whether from humble households or Aristocratic Clans, they all belonged to the same category—Aristocratic Clan descendants.
"Wang Yunxi of the Langya Wang Clan. A pleasure to meet you, Senior Brother Yu."
Before Zhou Liang could speak, the woman had already introduced herself with a smiling face.
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