After thoroughly reading and carefully considering the matter, he decided against trying it out, fearing he might run out of time. When Madara finally emerged from his inner realm, he only then began to feel a wave of drowsiness. Hours later, he woke up, guided by his internal body clock. He glanced at the spirit orb next to his bed and saw that it had yet to chime. While waiting for it to do so, he started his morning routine—something he always did, even though he had no way of knowing if it was morning since his room had no windows.
After putting on the clothes provided to him and completing his intense swordplay routine, Madara entered a deep meditation to absorb qi. Several more hours passed, and when he finished meditating, the orb still hadn't chimed. To make the most of his remaining time, he transferred the contents of his old storage ring into the new one given to him by the sect. Once he was done, only the old storage ring remained in his possession. Holding it in his palm, Madara couldn't help but smile, though the expression was tinged with a hint of sadness.
As soon as he placed his old storage ring into the new one, the spirit orb chimed precisely. "I need to go to the courtyard," he murmured, taking the spirit orb and storing it in his new ring. Stepping out of his room, he noticed it was already dawn. By the time he reached the courtyard, a few disciples were already waiting. After a few more minutes, other outer sect disciples, like him, began arriving.
Soon, everyone fell silent as a man stepped out from the door in front of them. He introduced himself as one of the elders of the sect.
Following the elder, they all proceeded to one of the sect's pagodas. Inside, they were greeted with a spacious, open layout, high sweeping ceilings, and translucent walls that offered breathtaking views of the surrounding natural beauty. The elder then instructed everyone to sit cross-legged on the wooden floor. Once they were seated in an orderly fashion, the elder stood before them and spoke. "You all probably already know why you're here, right?" he asked. In response, everyone nodded.
"We will start from the beginning," he said, standing before the seated new outer sect disciples.
"Cultivation is the process of refining one's body, mind, and spirit to reach higher levels of power, longevity, and even immortality."
The man paused, halting his speech, when he noticed someone raise their hand on his left. "Yes?"
"Is immortality real?" a female cultivator asked.
"Yes," the elder replied, "immortality is a genuine and attainable goal for cultivators. However, it demands immense dedication, skill, and often, a willingness to face great risks and challenges."
"Immortality allows cultivators to extend their lifespans and focuses on the preservation of the soul, enabling reincarnation or existence as a spiritual entity, even if the physical body is destroyed."
Many of the disciples were stunned by this revelation, and their reactions didn't go unnoticed by the elder. With a knowing look, he continued.
"Now, let me ask you all—do you think immortality is something that can be easily achieved?"
No one answered, so the elder pointed to someone at the back. "You, what's your opinion? Do you think immortality is easy to obtain?"
The plump man sitting at the back responded, "Elder, for me, it's not easy, because, as you mentioned, achieving immortality comes with risks and challenges."
"That right and what are those challenges?" the elder asked.
The plump man hesitated and couldn't answer. The elder then scanned the room, his eyes moving over all the new disciples.
He pointed again, and a disciple sitting at the far right spoke up. "I think strength."
"Okay, what else? Don't be shy. I just want everyone's opinion," the elder encouraged.
Hearing this, many disciples began offering their thoughts on the challenges of achieving immortality, mentioning things like weapons, techniques or arts, pills, and other tools that could be used to attain it.
"How about you?" the elder asked, turning to a man sitting in the center.
The man responded, "For me, the biggest challenge to achieving immortality is 'Us'."
Upon hearing this, the elder nodded approvingly. "That's right—us, the cultivators. The journey is highly competitive, with rivals vying for limited resources, rare treasures, and opportunities for advancement. Fierce battles, betrayals, and sect conflicts are common as each cultivator seeks to surpass the others and secure their path to immortality. This intense competition makes the journey perilous, with the greatest dangers often coming from those on the same path."
"Now, next, I will discuss the basic key aspects of cultivation. I know many of you are already familiar with this, but Sect Master Han Feng specifically instructed me to teach you this anyway."
...
Qi (Chi): The fundamental energy that cultivators harness. Qi exists in all things and can be absorbed, refined, and used to enhance a cultivator's abilities.
Dantian: An energy center within the body, typically located in the lower abdomen, where a cultivator stores and refines their qi.
Meridians: Pathways within the body through which qi flows. Clearing and expanding these pathways is crucial for advancing in cultivation.
Cultivation Stages: The cultivation process is divided into various stages or realms, each representing a higher level of power and understanding. These stages include: Body Tempering, Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment (Foundation Realm), Core Formation (Core Realm), Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation (Soul Realm), Spirit Severin Realm (Spirit Realm), Void Refinement (Void Realm), and finally, the Ascension Realm (Sovereign Realm).
~~~
When Madara heard about the stages of cultivation, he was both shocked and amazed. "I didn't expect there would be so many stages left for me to go through."
~~~
Body Tempering Realm: The starting stage where the cultivator focuses on enhancing their physical attributes such as strength, endurance, and resilience.
Qi Condensation Realm: The initial stage where a cultivator learns to gather and refine qi.
Foundation Establishment (Foundation Realm): The stage where a cultivator solidifies their qi and strengthens their foundation for future advancement.
Core Formation (Core Realm): The stage where a cultivator condenses their qi into a core, significantly enhancing their power.
Nascent Soul Realm: The stage where a cultivator forms a nascent soul, a powerful spiritual entity within themselves.
Soul Transformation (Soul Realm): The stage where a cultivator refines their nascent soul and gains greater control over their spiritual powers.
Spirit Severin Realm (Spirit Realm): Cultivators at this stage sever their spirits from the confines of their physical bodies, allowing them to transcend mortal limitations and attain a higher level of spiritual existence.
Void Refinement (Void Realm): The stage where a cultivator's soul transcends the physical body.
Ascension Realm (Sovereign Realm): The mortal peak and ultimate goal of many cultivators, where they transcend mortality and ascend to higher realms.
...
"Who here doesn't want to appear old?" the elder asked. At this, every disciple raised their hand.
"Even I don't want that, which is why you all need to reach the Core Formation Realm as soon as possible. In this realm, cultivators can halt the aging process. It involves refining the internal core, like the Golden Core, which stores vast amounts of spiritual energy (Qi). This energy circulates throughout the body, rejuvenating it and slowing or even stopping the natural aging process. The cultivator's body becomes sustained by Qi, marking the beginning of their path toward immortality."
A murmur spread among the disciples as they exchanged thoughts, but they quickly fell silent when their elder spoke again.
"Have you ever wondered why some cultivators choose to maintain an older appearance? They believe it symbolizes wisdom, experience, and mastery. It can also help them avoid attracting unwanted attention or suspicion, stabilize their cultivation, or align with philosophical beliefs about aging. In some cases, it allows them to appear less threatening or avoid causing jealousy among others."
One of the seated disciples gathered the courage to ask their sect elder, "Elder, what is your cultivation realm?" the female cultivator asked.
"My cultivation realm is the Late Stage Nascent Soul Realm. And speaking of late stage..."
"Each cultivation stage is usually divided into multiple realms or sub-stages, typically categorized as early stage, mid stage, late stage, and peak stage. These subdivisions allow for a more detailed progression within each major cultivation stage, highlighting the continuous growth and refinement of a cultivator's abilities."
...
Early Stage: The initial phase where a cultivator begins to understand and harness the basic aspects of the current stage.
Mid Stage: The cultivator has a firmer grasp on the abilities and techniques associated with the stage, showing significant improvement and stability.
Late Stage: The cultivator has nearly mastered the current stage, exhibiting powerful and refined abilities.
Peak Stage: The cultivator has fully maximized the potential of the current stage and is ready to break through to the next major stage.
...
"Each sub-stage (early, mid, late, and peak) can further be divided into levels to provide even more detailed progression."
...
Early Stage: ( Level 1, 2, and 3)
Mid Stage: ( Level 4,5, and 6)
Late Stage: ( Level 7, 8, and 9)
Peak Stage: ( Level 10)
...
"You may have noticed that while you're cultivating from the Early Stage Qi Condensation to the Mid Stage Qi Condensation Realm, progress tends to be slow due to the divided levels. And if you reach the Late Stage, my advice is that you should aim for the Peak Stage. The Peak Stage represents the final push, where everything aligns for a breakthrough, whereas the Late Stage is primarily about refining and preparing. The Peak Stage is when a cultivator is fully ready to step into the next realm. In short, the Peak Stage offers the greatest chance for a breakthrough to the next realm compared to the Late Stage."