Chapter 5: Learning 1 - Internal Cultivation
After being shown around the place he was to stay - a very nice pavilion inside of a Saint domain, just outside the Zixiao Region, Zi Xiao sat him down in a classroom like environment.
They were in the middle of a beautiful bamboo forest, with a small clear water creek running down beside them. He was seated on a small cushion in a temple-like piece of jade.
"So I'm assuming you know why I brought you here?"
Julong shook his head with a small smile.
"Not really, you sort of dragged me here, Master."
"Right... Well, we are to assess you and teach you some things, like a school class, if you want to look at it as such."
Julong nodded his head in understanding.
"So, I know you are in the Middle Stage of the Qi Nourishing Realm, with Grade 5 Gold Grade Genesis Qi, but I do not know much about your spirit. Usually, I would be able to see it rather easily, but your blessing is rather powerful and surprisingly is able to shroud its grade."
"When I awoke my Meridians, thanks to the blessing, my Spirit immediately stepped into the Early Stage of the Illusory Realm. I haven't made much progress on it, as I have been focused more so on my Internal Cultivation."
Zi Xiao nodded.
"So you know what the difference between Internal and External Cultivation is?"
"To an extent."
"Well, allow me to explain the difference. Internal Cultivation is the refining of Genesis Qi into our Qi dwelling, while External Cultivation is the refining of the physical body to strengthen it. Whatever you may have thought the difference is, forget it. This is the most simple way of looking at it."
"Yes, Master."
"Just to add to what I said, I will touch on the spirit. Just like External Cultivation, it is the focused cultivation of ones' Divine Spirit. When cultivated further it allows our senses to be hightened.
"You have to remember each is different, and until a certain level cannot be mixed together. They each have different levels and techniques."
Julong nodded once more, as Zi Xiao adopted a thoughtful expression.
"To alleviate any confusion, I'll go through each level of each different type of Cultivation with you.
"The first we will cover is Internal Cultivation, the most common form of Cultivation. As said before this is the Cultivation of Genesis Qi into the individual's Qi Dwelling. It is divided into 10 different stages, though only 9 are attainable."
"What do you mean by attainable?"
Julong was a little confused, as he thought there was only 9 in total, not 10.
"We'll get there in due time, but allow me to first go through each stage with you.
"First up is the 'Eight Great Meridians Awakening Realm', which as suggested by the name, is the awakening and unblocking of the 8 Meridians inside of the body to allow for cultivation. This is fairly rudimentary, and if you can't do this, then your cultivation journey will not exist. Only when all Meridians are awoken, is the practitioner able to create a Qi Dwelling. As such, the user at this stage is only able to use very basic Yuan Techniques.
"The second stage is the 'Qi Nourishing Realm', the realm you are currently in. This is also an important realm as it is where you choose a Scripture to practice, which forms the foundation of your techniques and your overall Grade of Genesis Qi. If you do not choose a Scripture, you will be stuck with ordinary Genesis Qi, which is not very powerful. This stage allows you to use Low-Grade Xuan Yuan Techniques to their full potential. During this stage, your initial Grade Genesis Qi will form, normally the Grade is between 1-3, but for geniuses, it is between 4-6, 6 being astronomically rare. You are currently at the peak of Grade 5 Qi, and I believe once you break through, you will be able to achieve Grade 6 Qi, if not sooner. While at this stage, if your Qi Mastery is high enough, you should be able to make yourself float for a short period of time.
"The third realm is the 'Heaven Gate Realm', which is the stage that truly shows ones' potential. It's shown by the Genesis Qi pillar that is created by the breakthrough. A genius would be able to achieve a pillar from 100-300 ft, but I have higher hopes for you. At this stage, you will be able to fully utilise Black Yuan Techniques. It is also worth noting the ability to float using Genesis Qi will be unlocked for all users at this time. The peak of this realm is known as the Quasi-Alpha-Origin, which leads into the next realm;
"The 'Alpha-Origin Realm' is by far one of the most complex realms. It has 9 layers and allows for the practitioner to fully utilise lesser, low and mid-grade Heaven Yuan Techniques. I will go in further depth when you finally reach this stage, as there is a lot to cover, but to put it simply, this is when you begin to create Genesis Qi Stars.
"The fifth realm is the 'Divine-Dwelling Realm', this realm signifies the beginning of true mastery and are even held as true elites in some cases. There are 3 stages, Initial, Intermediate and Advanced. Each stage allows for each of the 9 layers to appear. Average Advanced users stagnate at 7-8 layers, but a genius is easily able to reach 9 layers, resulting in millions of Genesis Qi Stars. In addition to this, there is also a super rare phenomenon known as mutated Divine-Dwellings, which provide even higher amounts of Genesis Qi Stars and other special abilities.
"The sixth realm of cultivation is known as the 'Heavenly Sun Realm', which is also divided into the initial, intermediate, and advanced stages. These are dictated by how many suns you have, the max being three. There are five different classifications, Scarlet, Silver, Purple-Gold, Glazed and Nine Claws. Each provides different levels of strength, with the Nine Claws Heavenly Sun being the rarest and most powerful, but I have a feeling your blessing will help you with that when you reach this stage.
"Next up is the 'Nascent Source Realm', which has a Lesser, Greater/Advanced, and Perfection stage. Each stage is based on how large your Nascent Source is. Usually, the size is stagnated at a max of 9.5 inches, which is the size many saints reached, however, that is not the max. The maximum length is 9.9+ inches. If you manage to reach such an achievement, your Law Domain will be incredibly powerful. But there is also a downside to this. In this stage, you are able to make a Pseudo-Law Domain, at the expense of stagnating your Nascent Source size. If you do not break through at the right time, or miss the window to create the Pseudo-Law Domain, you will be permanently stuck in the Nascent Source Realm.
"The next is the Law Domain and Saint Realms. We will go over these another day, as they are also too complex to cover in a single sitting. In other words, we have just completed the 9 achievable Realms. The tenth realm is known as the 'God Realm', and is not achievable for many obvious reasons. Anyone who has tried to achieve it has died, or failed miserably."
Julong sat there, taking in a large amount of information he had just received. He had known small bits about each realm, so what she had just told him was very valuable information.
"Thanks, Master. I'll make sure to use this information well."
She nodded.
"One more thing. If you wish to achieve the higher levels of each stage, I recommend trying to reach the absolute peak in each realm. I was lucky to break through to the Saint Stage, and it would have been much easier to do had I followed such advice. Don't do what I did.
"Now... onto Spirit and External Cultivation!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Messianic_Complex
Messianic_Complex So, I know this is a bit of an information dump, but I decided I'd do this now instead of later so any confusion about the cultivation system of the Wuxia World would be cleared up. It will allow me to focus more on the story in the future, instead of having to explain certain things. Unfortunately, the next chapter will be similar, but I can't wait to get past it and get onto the main story!
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