The Nine Realms and the First Step of Eight Desolations Suppression

By the time the Big Dipper Formation was completed in Chapter Eleven, Nan Feng had already been squatting in the Space-Time Bubble for five whole days.

For five days, he repeatedly deduced the seven star positions of the Big Dipper Formation. Using himself as the core of the formation, he split his Immortal Power into seven streams and poured them into the seven star positions respectively.

Then, let the seven Immortal Power interact along the trajectory of the Big Dipper, forming a self-circulating sealing formation.

On the third day of practice, he almost trapped himself inside the formation and couldn't get out.

The seven star positions pulled at each other. He stood in the middle of the array's eye, and the sealing power from all directions squeezed towards the center, making his ribs ache.

Finally, Old Huai, seeing that things were not going well, swung his immortal wood branch into the Space-Time Bubble and forcibly pulled him out of the array's eye.

"You're the first person to have mastered a supernatural power to the point of intimidating yourself."

Old Huai retrieved the Immortal Tree branch. A layer of Space-Time fragments from Nan Feng's body clung to the bark. The old man shook it off for a long time but couldn't get it all off, so he simply stopped shaking it and leaned against the trunk to catch his breath.

"Alright, the eleventh one is done. You can take a break."

Nan Feng emerged from the Space-Time Bubble. He still had 30% of his Immortal Power remaining. His meridians were stiff from the seven sealing forces of the Big Dipper Formation, and he had to move his shoulders a couple of times to feel better.

Bibi Dong handed him some spiritual spring water. This time she didn't say anything, but shoved the bowl into his hand, took a half step back, and stood there without moving.

Nan Feng took the water, drank a couple of sips, and sat down opposite the Old Huai.

Old Huai slid down from the sacred tree, walked around him twice with his hands behind his back, stopped, and cleared his throat.

I have something important to tell you.

"You say."

"When you became an immortal, the lingering spirit of the Pagoda God told you that he cultivated to be a god, while you cultivated to be an immortal. Do you remember?"

The Nan Feng nodded.

Old Huai stroked his beard.

"Do you know how many realms there are in the Primordial World Immortal Dao?"

Nan Feng thought for a moment.

"You mentioned Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul before... but didn't go into details."

"I'll explain it to you in detail today," Old Huai said, holding up one finger. "The Primordial World Immortal Dao is divided into nine realms: Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul Spirit Transformation Void Refinement, Body Integration Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, Tribulation Transcendence, and True Immortal. Each realm is higher and more difficult than the last."

"What are you now? Foundation Establishment. You haven't even touched the edge of the Golden Core stage."

Nan Feng remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

" From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, it normally takes a hundred years." Old Huai held up his second finger. "Once the Golden Core is formed, all the Immortal Power in the body is compressed into a single pill, and both its quality and quantity increase dramatically."

"But you won't last a hundred years. You have the Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl and the Three Lights Divine Water; each drop of the Three Lights Divine Water replenishes your Immortal Power."

"The flow rate inside the Space-Time Bubble is a hundred times faster than outside, and one day of cultivation inside the tower is equivalent to a hundred days outside. Taking all of this into account, you can probably reach the Golden Core Foundation Establishment in about ten years."

"Ten years," Nan Feng calculated in his mind.

"It takes another hundred years to go from Golden Core to Nascent Soul." Old Huai held up his third finger. "The Nascent Soul is formed by dissolving the Golden Core and reshaping it into a Nascent Soul that looks exactly like you. Once the Nascent Soul is formed, it's like you have an extra life; even if your physical body shatters, your Nascent Soul can still escape."

"This step is much more difficult than the Golden Core. Normally it takes a hundred years, but if you compress it to its maximum, it will take about twenty years."

"It takes even longer to go from Nascent Soul Spirit Transformation." Old Huai added his fourth finger. "Spirit Transformation is the process of merging the Nascent Soul with the primordial energy of Nascent Soul and earth. Once you achieve Spirit Transformation, you can draw upon the power of heaven and earth for your own use, no longer relying solely on your own Immortal Power. This step normally takes three hundred years, but you've compressed it to sixty."

Nan Feng added up these numbers. Ten years plus twenty years plus sixty years, it takes ninety years to go from Foundation Establishment to Spirit Transformation.

Old Huai snorted.

"You think it's too slow? Let me finish. After Spirit Transformation, there's Void Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, Tribulation Transcendence, and True Immortal. Void Refinement five hundred years, Body Integration one thousand, Mahayana two thousand, Tribulation Transcendence three thousand, and True Immortal has no fixed number; some people are stuck for their entire lives and can't even get past it."

"Normally, it takes at least seven or eight thousand years to cultivate to the level of True Immortal."

Nan Feng's eyelid twitched.

"But you're different." Old Huai changed the subject. "You have the tower's Space-Time Power; one year outside is ten years inside the tower, and your cultivation efficiency inside the tower increases as you unlock more levels. With the aid of the Three Lights Divine Water, you can reduce those years to about 10%. Nine years, eighteen years, fifty-four years... all the way to True Immortal, it would take about seven or eight hundred years."

"Seven or eight hundred years," Nan Feng repeated.

"Yes. Seven or eight hundred years to become True Immortal." Old Huai stared at him. "Do you know how long your ancestor Pagoda God, cultivated to become a god? Eight thousand years. You're eight times faster than him."

"Moreover, you cultivate the Immortal Dao, and True Immortal is a level higher than God King. You can reach places your ancestor couldn't reach in eight thousand years in just seven or eight hundred years."

Nan Feng didn't reply, looking down at the bowl of spiritual spring water in his hand. His own face was reflected in the water, young, not old at all.

But he had been inside the Space-Time Bubble for almost half a month, while less than two hours had passed outside.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Old Huai added another sentence.

"Don't think seven or eight hundred years is a long time. Cultivating immortality is about cultivating destiny, not speed. No matter how fast time flows in your Tower Spirit Space, your own body and soul have to keep up. If your soul can't keep up, no matter how fast your Immortal Power increases, it's all in vain."

"That's why I made you hone your supernatural powers over and over again. Hone your supernatural powers by hone your soul."

Nan Feng nodded and finished the water in the bowl.

"And there's more," Old Huai lowered his voice and leaned closer.

"When you became an immortal, the remnant Pagoda God told you, ' The Primordial World Great Dao has no end,' do you remember?"

"Remember."

"This isn't something to be taken lightly." Old Huai's expression turned serious for the first time. "There are realms above True Immortal. Your ancestor cultivated to the peak of God King, and the next step was World Creation, but he couldn't cross that threshold; he was stuck there."

"You cultivate the path of Immortal Dao. After True Immortal, there are Taiyi, Great Luo, and Hunyuan. Gu Yuena told you that 'after the God King comes World Creation,' right? So what does ' World Creation ' correspond to in the Immortal Dao? Guess."

Nan Feng didn't guess.

Old Huai himself revealed the answer.

"It corresponds to the Hunyuan. Once you achieve Hunyuan, you can create the world and create your own. Your ancestor tried to take this path but failed. Now you've climbed up by standing on his shoulders, so at least you know there's a path beyond True Immortal."

Nan Feng was silent for a while, then suddenly asked a question.

Where did you learn all this?

The Old Huai choked for a moment, then angrily slapped its trunk.

"I've guarded this tower for so many years! I've read through all those books and inscriptions inside countless times! When your ancestor was alive, I listened, read, and memorized everything. My memory is far better than yours!"

Bibi Dong, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle.

Old Huai turned his head and glared at her. Bibi Dong immediately put on a stern face and pretended to be looking at the Nine Heart Begonia.

Nan Feng stood up and patted the fragments of Space-Time off her clothes.

"Alright, I understand. It takes ten years to go from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core. I'll focus on getting through those ten years first."

Old Huai called from behind.

"Stop just focusing on your Immortal Power! Your supernatural abilities need to keep up too! You've only mastered eleven of the 108 chapters so far, you're far from good enough!"

"I know." The Nan Feng sped away into Space-Time.

"You—" Old Huai opened his mouth, "You went in again?"

"Finish practicing the twelfth exercise before you come out."

Old Huai muttered curses from behind.

"That brat is just like his ancestor; once he starts cultivating, he never knows when to stop!"

Bibi Dong squatted next to the Nine Heart Begonia with an empty bowl in her hand, without even raising her head.

Didn't you just say to let him rest for a while?

Old Huai choked, muttered "I can't argue with him," and shrank back into the fairy tree.

Nan Feng entered the Space-Time Bubble, but instead of rushing to practice the twelfth chapter, he sat down cross-legged and went through everything that Old Huai had just said.

Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, Tribulation Transcendence, True Immortal. There are nine realms, and his current Foundation Establishment is just the starting point.

Ten years to Golden Core, twenty years to Nascent Soul Spirit Transformation. It sounds like an astronomical number.

However, when converted to time within the Tower Spirit Space, one year outside is equivalent to ten years inside the Tower. If these figures are further reduced by more than half, it's actually only a matter of a few hundred years.

Hundreds of years is a long time for mortals, but for someone cultivating immortality, it's not even the beginning.

He recalled what Old Huai had said, "Cultivating immortality is about cultivating destiny, not about speed." That's true, but not entirely.

He must cultivate his life, and he must hurry. The seal on the Abyssal Outer Domain still needs reinforcement, and there are still lingering turbid gases in the rifts of the Far North. The beauties of Heaven Dou City are all capable of causing trouble. If he really stays in the tower to cultivate for hundreds of years before going out, things outside will have long since descended into chaos.

Therefore, he needed to be fast, but not chaotic. Fast meant his Immortal Power could keep up, and chaotic meant his spirit could remain stable. Old Huai made him repeatedly hone his supernatural abilities, precisely to hone this "stability".

Nan Feng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began practicing the twelfth chapter, "Eight Desolations Suppression."

Outside the Space-Time Bubble, Bibi Dong finished watering the Nine Heart Begonia for the first time that day and put the watering can aside.

She squatted at the edge of the Space-Time Bubble and watched the Nan Feng for a while.

The Old Huai peeked half its face out from the sacred wood, lowering its voice.

Why are you staring at him?

Bibi Dong didn't even turn her head.

"Let's see when he finishes the twelfth chapter."

Why do you care about this?

Bibi Dong stood up, patted her skirt, and remained expressionless.

"After he finished practicing the twelfth chapter, I went to tell him that we were almost out of tea leaves."

Old Huai clicked his tongue.

"You've been watching his cultivation every day, just to hasten the tea leaves' growth?"

Bibi Dong glanced at him.

"Otherwise what?"

The Old Huai shrank back into its trunk, and the leaves of the fairy tree rustled twice, as if laughing.

Bibi Dong ignored him, carrying the empty bowl towards her small area. After taking two steps, she stopped, glanced at the Space-Time Bubble, and then continued walking.

Inside the Space-Time Bubble, the air around Nan Feng distorted slightly. He had finally grasped the basics of the Qi-guiding method in the twelfth chapter, Eight Desolations Suppression.

The Tower Spirit Space was quiet. Shifang squatted by the fire, turning over fish, the fish oil dripping onto the embers and emitting white smoke. The leaves of the Old Huai locust tree swayed twice above his head. Bibi Dong picked up the fallen petals next to the Nine Heart Begonia, carefully collected them, and then squatted back down to water it.