Now, regardless of whether it's the Daming World or the Sky Wasteland, the most prosperous cultivation systems in these two worlds are the Path of Qi Refinement, followed by Refining Spirit and Incense Flame Path. Finally, the Body Refining Path is reluctantly walked by cultivators who lack natural talents, resources, and background.
It can be said that among these cultivation systems of Essence Refinement, Qi Refinement, Spirit Refinement, and Incense Flame, even though everyone knows the inherent power of the Way of Essence Refinement, due to various reasons, there are the fewest people who major in the Way of Essence Refinement. Most of them are just practicing it as a minor skill.
Even after Pei Xuanjing openly and unreservedly revealed the secrets and keys of the Way of Essence Refinement to the cultivators between heaven and earth at the Shenxiao Debate Conference, most cultivators still place greater emphasis on the Path of Qi Refinement and Spirit Refinement, and few choose to walk the Way of Essence Refinement when presented with a choice.
This is because the Way of Essence Refinement is too slow and too difficult. It seems simple to get started, but if you really want to go far on this path and achieve something, the effort and hardship required are many times that of other cultivation systems.
If you have such perseverance and determination, why not save more time to practice other Paths of Qi Refinement and Spirit Refinement instead? Why make life harder for yourself?
Who would willingly walk the Way of Essence Refinement if not compelled by circumstances?
This was the perception and understanding of the majority of cultivators in the Sky Wasteland at that time.
However, in Pei Xuanjing's view, this perception and common sense were actually wrong.
Admittedly, the Way of Essence Refinement requires perseverance and hardship, but if Pei Xuanjing's calculations are correct, for those who are truly determined to walk the Immortal Path, the Way of Essence Refinement might actually be the most promising path to becoming immortal.
After stepping into the Mortal Realm of refining muscles, tendons and skin, changing the blood and undergoing rebirth, and breaking through to the Spirit Realm, continue to refine and open up the orifices until you maximize your bodily potential, to the point where you have fully refined all 365 orifices which, when connected together, will fully unleash the potential of the human body.
Although Pei Xuanjing is now walking the Golden Core Dao, and this Golden Core is shapeless and formless, he can manipulate it at will. It can be said that when walking the Golden Core Dao, Pei Xuanjing's physical body has not fallen behind, and even as a result of the balance of his essence, qi, and spirit in the Golden Core Dao, his physical body is gradually strengthening.
Today, when Pei Xuanjing steps into the Nine Realms of the Spirit Realm, he has already opened up as many as 361 orifices within his true body. If he can successfully refine the remaining four orifices, it means that Pei Xuanjing has fully refined his physical body to the peak state of the Nine Realms of the Spirit Realm.
"However, having completed the opening of all 365 orifices, it seems that this is not the limit of the human body." Pei Xuanjing, feeling the power unleashed by these linked orifices in his body, thought to himself.
Although he still lacks four orifices and hasn't fully refined all of them, when Pei Xuanjing has already refined 361 orifices, he has already reached this realm, so he has some predictions about the effect of the remaining orifices to be refined. After all, it's only a quantitative difference, not a qualitative change.
He can foresee that even if he has completed the refinement of all orifices and fully connects them, his strength will greatly improve, yet he has not fully utilized the potential of his physical body. There are still many unknowns to be discovered.
"The Flesh Body Microcosm, the Macrocosm of Heaven and Earth. Legend has it that the human body inherently has infinite potential, all of which is sealed within the Divine Hidden. The key to unlocking the Divine Hidden is missing. As long as one can open the sealed Divine Hidden, even without refining Qi or cultivating spirit, one can possess the power to start a new world, just by relying on physical strength and will." Pei Xuanjing recalled some records he once read from some books.
He couldn't remember where these ancient books came from, but some of the things recorded in them stuck in his memory and seemed as fresh as today.
In the past, after Pei Xuanjing stepped into the First-grade of Martial Arts, he read some literature and legends about the emergence of martial arts.
Legend has it that martial arts did not appear at the very beginning, or rather, they were very rudimentary. During the ancient times, it was just some techniques for the human race, who were born strong and possess powerful strength, to exert force. However, as the heaven and earth became more difficult, fewer and fewer people of the human race were born with divine strength, and as the Dao of Qi Refining rose, what should have been the emergence of martial arts was scattered and ultimately replaced by the Dao of Qi Refining.
After countless years, there were many shifts in lineage, changes in time, and alternations of divine dynasties. It was only after the cataclysmic war at the end of the Tang Dynasty that the essence Qi of heaven and earth in the Daming World rapidly decreased and could no longer support the cultivation of these powerful beings, leading to the migration of various powers to the Sky Wasteland.
While these powerful beings left, countless sentient beings still remained in the Daming World. They had seen the power of cultivators with their own eyes and knew about the existence of the Spirit Realm. Therefore, even when these people left, their desire to continue cultivating was not extinguished.
However, with the decrease of the essence Qi of heaven and earth, there wasn't enough Qi to support their continued Qi refinement. You have to understand that before the emergence of martial arts, the cultivation of the Mortal Realm was Qi refinement. People would refine the essence Qi of heaven and earth to strengthen themselves, and eventually step into the Spirit Realm.
Now, with the decline of the heaven and earth's essence Qi, for many of the remaining human race, even if they have the method of Qi Refining, they cannot continue refining Qi. The refinement of the heaven and earth essence Qi can be said to be getting half the results with double the work, and later, the decline of the heaven and earth essence Qi couldn't even maintain their own primordial Qi.
Under such circumstances, martial arts appeared again. This technique, which appeared in ancient times and was used by ordinary humans to temper their bodies and by those naturally strong for combat, was brought up again and after countless people's research and development, martial arts started to circulate between heaven and earth.
With the continuous popularity and improvement of martial arts, externally refining the muscles, bones, and skin, internally refining the viscera and marrow, changing the blood and undergoing rebirth, this cultivation method, although completely different from the Dao of Qi Refining, undoubtedly found a new path.
From the time after the Tang Dynasty until today when the Heaven and Earth have not yet been restored, martial arts, over the past few thousands of years, evolved from its original appearance with only few techniques to its current flourishing state where numerous techniques coexist. It has completely opened the Cultivation Road of the Mortal Realm and replaced the Dao of Qi Refining in the Cultivation of the Mortal Realm.
"However, it's still a bit regrettable. The time was too short. If there had been enough time, martial arts might not have failed to continue." Pei Xuanjing sighed in his heart.
The resurgence of Heaven and Earth was a good opportunity for many martial artists in the world, allowing them not to be limited by their shackles and have the opportunity to advance. However, for martial arts, this was not the case.
"If the world hadn't revived, or if the Sky Wasteland realm hadn't returned, and those skills hadn't appeared from those forbidden places and blessed lands, perhaps Martial Arts would have evolved in a situation of extreme poverty and destitution," Pei Xuanjing lamented in his heart.
Martial Arts paved the way for countless martial artists when the Essence Qi of heaven and earth were declining. But when heaven and earth revived, the original path was thus abandoned.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, had it not been for the revival of heaven and earth and the arrival of more mature cultivation methods, under a situation of no other choices, most of the strong could have focused their wisdom and thoughts on Martial Arts for progress. Even though they might walk slowly down the path, Martial Arts would unquestionably keep developing. One day, it might even rival the Path of Refining Qi and Spirit.
Just like Pei Xuanjing's experience in the Immortal Sects' world during the last life simulation. Ordinary people without spiritual roots, in a desperate situation, placed all their wisdom into Martial Arts. That's how they managed to continuously innovate and ultimately pave the way for Martial Arts, rivaling top-tier immortal sects.
Even though the Daming World possesses a more profound foundation than the world of Immortal Sects, the cultivators in the Daming World aren't confronted with the desperate situation those ordinary people faced— they had better choices. They preferred not to bother themselves with Martial Arts and waste time when more mature paths were available for them.
Therefore, despite having a deeper foundation, they decisively abandoned Martial Arts under such circumstance. That's the real reason why Martial Arts remained stagnant in the Daming World all these years.
About this, there's nothing much Pei Xuanjing could say, after all, pursuing benefits and avoiding harm is an instinctive behavior.— Nobody could blame them.
"However, even without their help, with the experiences I have accumulated in the world of Immortal Sects, I can completely rely on myself to keep complementing Martial Arts. Although it may not reach absolute perfection, I can still pave a way to the peak of potential Immortal Path," a glint flashed in Pei Xuanjing's eyes.
The initial birth and development of Martial Arts wasn't possible with just one person's power— It's the result of countless people's brilliant wisdom accumulated over thousands of years. That's how Martial Arts has developed to be as prosperous as it is today.
If it had been before experiencing the projection simulation in the world of the immortal sects, even if Pei Xuanjing foresaw a bright future for Martial Arts and knew the possible path leading to the Immortal Path or the Path of Human Immortal, he couldn't have managed to accomplish it by himself.
But, things are different now, even though most people in Daming World have to switch to the practice of Refining Qi and Spirit or Incense God Path once they reach the peak of Martial Arts and break into the Spirit Realm, there's inevitably a few who, under dynamic circumstances, walked down the path of Martial Arts cultivation. Even if they couldn't provide Pei Xuanjing with wisdom and inspiration for now, he's confident enough to perfect the cultivation path of Martial Arts after ascending to the Spirit Realm.
During the life simulation in the world of Immortal Sects, Pei Xuanjing spent a millennium. During that time, he propagated Martial Arts throughout a certain world, and numerous people began the cultivation path of Martial Artists. Even after some of them got promoted to a realm equivalent to a first-grade in the Daming World, those Martial Artists without spiritual roots continued on this path, and some of them eventually reached the pinnacle of Martial Arts.
All their research, understanding, cognition, and perception of Martial Arts were inherited by Pei Xuanjing. They became the basis for him to thoroughly perfect the cultivation method of Spirit Martial.
"The cultivation of Human Immortal Martial Arts should be divided into three steps. This is the real process of developing the potential of the flesh, completing the minor cosmos of life, developing the divine hidden, and then achieving the Path of Human Immortal," Pei Xuanjing thought to himself.
The first step is Mortal Martial.
This is the first major realm named by Pei Xuanjing, Mortal Martial is the phase before the Spirit Realm, also the major cultivation path of Mortal Realm in the Daming World— a process of three realms and ninth-grade cultivation. During this phase, mortals cultivate their Inner Qi, externally refining their muscles and bones, and internally refining their visceral marrow. Afterward, they undergo a complete change by replacing their blood, polishing their flesh to top condition at the peak of Mortal Realm. They start to absorb heaven and earth's Essence Qi, by combining Essence Qi with the body's acupoints. The moment they successfully condense an acupoint, a change will occur to the flesh, and they will step into the Spirit Realm.
The second step, Spirit Martial.
This is the second major realm named by Pei Xuanjing— Spirit Martial, which alludes to martial artists within the Spirit Realm. Spirit Realm Martial Artists no longer refine themselves with Inner Qi or True Qi, like mortals, but use the more potent Essence Qi of heaven and earth to transform their bodies. In this realm, martial artists keep absorbing the Essence Qi of heaven and earth to fuse with their acupoints. The more acupoints they condense, the more Primordial Qi they can accumulate, which lasts longer. Moreover, due to connections between acupoints, a more powerful potential can be stimulated.
According to Pei Xuanjing's calculations, the continuous condensing of acupoints is also the process of spiritualizing one's flesh. He divided this process into nine realms following the number of acupoints condensed, corresponding to the nine layers realm of the Path of Refining Qi and Spirit.
For example, condensing an acupoint is equivalent to advancing to Spirit Realm Onefold, and for every twelve acupoints condensed thereafter, you advance one level. By the time you've condensed thirty-six acupoints, forming the Heavenly Stem Number in the body, you'll have reached Spirit Realm Third Level perfection.
Thereafter, once you've condensed seventy-two acupoints constructing the Earthly Fiends Number in the body, you would have reached the level of Spirit Realm Sixth Level.
However, once the seventy-third acupoint is condensed, it would correspond to a Spirit Realm Seventh Level cultivator who has formed a Taoist foundation. But unlike the previous step, to truly reach Spirit Realm Seventh Level perfection, it is necessary to condense up to one hundred and eight acupoints, the number symbolizing the completion of Minor Circulation. Reaching Spirit Realm Eightfold is even more challenging, requiring three hundred and sixty acupoints to be condensed, symbolizing the number for Great Circulation.
It's also unknown how many heroes the Spirit Realm Nine Realms of Spirit, the path of the ultimate level of the Spirit Realm, have obstructed. Similarly, even if one practices Martial Arts, it's not easy to set foot in it. However, in the final Spirit Realm Nine Realms of Spirit, one only needs to condense and open up the last five acupoints for the true completion of full body acupoints.
The human body has thousands of acupoints, but what Pei Xuanjing is referring to are the three hundred and sixty-five major acupoints of the human body. By the time you reach this step, if you still want to make further progress, you could continue to condense the minor acupoints for self-completion.
Much like Pei Xuanjing now, in addition to his own three hundred and sixty-one major acupoints condensed, he has also condensed countless minor acupoints all over his body, too numerous to count.
The major acupoints of the human body are the key nodes; once these acupoints are condensed, the remaining minor acupoints will be washed by power due to the connection of the major acupoints. Even without deliberate condensing, they will gradually complete themselves.
"If you wish to explore the Immortal Martial Path and ascend to the Human Immortal Realm, you can only truly step into this stage when you have reached the perfect state in the second step," Pei Xuanjing said softly.
According to Pei Xuanjing, the most perfect state for the Spirit Martial Realm body actually involves condensing all 365 major acupoints in the body and also refining countless minor acupoints to perfection. Only when the body has reached a flawless state, capable of regenerating lost limbs and reproducing flesh, can it be considered the perfection of the Spirit Martial Realm.
The only time to truly comprehend the extremes of the realm is when you try to explore the location of your Divine Hidden. Then, opening your Divine Hidden, you would have the chance to step into the Immortal Martial Realm.
Indeed, it's just a chance.
In order to locate the Divine Hidden, one must refine the body to its utmost perfection. Yet, to unlock the sealed Divine Hidden, one is still missing a key. This decisive key is the Martial Path Willpower.
Martial Path Willpower is essentially the Martial True Intent required for a mortal martial artist to ascend from the Fourth-grade to the Third-grade realm.
Once upon a time, Pei Xuanjing thought during his cultivation that this Martial True Intent was his own will, part of the Refining Spirit method in the essence, qi, and spirit path. After stepping into the Spirit Realm, his practice involved refining the essence, qi, and spirit with this as the foundation.
However, once he truly stepped into the Nine Realms of Spirit and peaked in all aspects of essence, qi, and spirit, he found out that things weren't exactly as he thought.
Indeed, the Martial Path Willpower belongs to the 'spirit' section among the essence, qi, and spirit, but it's not just that. Instead, it can exist independently and is not something that dissipates with the Refining Spirit path.
Pei Xuanjing once thought that the Martial Path Willpower he had cultivated was thoroughly integrated into his Primordial Spirit and had become the nourishment for his Primordial Spirit, merging into one.
Now, however, he has realised that things are not that simple. Even now, when his Golden Core is in circulation and his essence, qi, and spirit are harmoniously integrated, the Martial True Intent still exists, hidden. Although he doesn't explicitly cultivate it, as his strength has increased, so has his Martial True Intent.
So, he realized that Martial True Intent exists independently. It belongs to the spirit, but it can also exist standalone. It's the crystallization of Pei Xuanjing's initial Martial Path, the proof of the existence of Martial Arts.
The Martial True Intent can continuously transform and is a manifestation of Martial Path Willpower. It's an idealistic embodiment and the key to unlocking the Divine Hidden within a human body. It's the core of a martial artist. Only by opening the Divine Hidden within the human body can one symbolically step on the Immortal Path.
The third step, the Immortal Martial Realm.
This is the third major realm of Martial Arts practice, named 'Immortal Martial Realm' by Pei Xuanjing. As the name implies, it refers to the Immortal Martial Artist, or in other words, what Pei Xuanjing deems as a Human Immortal.
Even though this realm is still out of reach for Pei Xuanjing, and he has never truly touched upon it, he still has absolute confidence in his deductions. If his deductions are correct and the Path of Human Immortal truly exists, then without a doubt, his idea of opening one's Divine Hidden, fighting against the heavens and earth, and completing the small universe within the body and the grand universe of heaven and earth is absolutely plausible.
According to Pei Xuanjing, Mortal Martial, Spirit Martial, and the legendary Immortal Martial form a complete gradual process on the Path of Human Immortal. It's a transition from nothing to something, from mortal to True Immortal.
"The Immortal Path is hard to find. Regardless of anything else, at the least, this is a way to become an Immortal that can be seen with the naked eye," said Pei Xuanjing, his eyes unfathomable, revealing no joy or sorrow. "However, apart from currently needing me to deduce the practice for the Martial Dao of the Spirit Realm, this path also requires others to try it out. More data would give me more references, enabling me to see the pros and cons of this path more clearly and to constantly perfect it."
With the Martial Path cultivation methods currently in Pei Xuanjing's possession and his experience in the world of immortal sects as his accumulation, Pei Xuanjing could deduce several paths for cultivators in the Spirit Martial Realm to follow.
However, even if he could deduce these paths and skills, whether they are genuinely useful or could meet his expectations, all remain unknown.
Therefore, Pei Xuanjing required verification. He needed people to cultivate these skills and walk these paths. Then, he could observe their cultivation experiences and find out whether the methods and paths he deduced have any defects.
The Life Simulator could accomplish this. If Pei Xuanjing so wished, he could choose to verify these during the Life Simulation.
However, doing so would consume a considerable cost. One Life Simulation would need one hundred million points of Taoyun value. To Pei Xuanjing, every chance to simulate life was extremely precious. Since there are alternative methods for verifying the cultivation techniques, he wouldn't directly do so when given a choice.
"Next, after deducing the skills, they will be placed into the Taoist Academy's exchange system, clearly labeling the conditions and selecting cultivators to practice these skills. That would be the best method," Pei Xuanjing said, a smile playing at his lips.
This kind of experiment, which lets cultivators in the Taoist Academy try it, although seeming somewhat inappropriate, is actually not. To many cultivators in the Taoist Academy, such an opportunity is virtually unheard of.
For most ordinary cultivators, finding suitable skills for their cultivation would be incredibly challenging without the exchange system of the Taoist Academy.
Even with the platform of the Taoist Academy's contribution system, the huge price is extremely burdensome for many cultivators. Yet, they still aggressively pursue it.
Even so, it's impossible for cultivators to find powerful, top-tier techniques — or say techniques that lead straight to the peak — on the Taoist Academy's contribution system platform. Nobody except Pei Xuanjing publicly shares such techniques.
Now, all Pei Xuanjing needs to do is put the deduced techniques and paths into the system. He doesn't have to use any other means. Even if he made it clear that there might be dangers and uncertainties, the rarity and benefits of these skills would draw countless cultivators. Nobody would refuse.
The cultivation world is becoming increasingly competitive, especially with the appearance of the Taoist Academy. More and more people, who would have never had the chance to cultivate, have started there. Their participation has accelerated the internal competition in cultivation.
After the resurgence of Heaven and Earth, even though countless heavenly and earthly treasures have emerged, facing an increasing number of cultivators, especially when the methods of Pill Refining, Tool Refining, and cultivation have been disseminated freely, countless cultivators are competing for resources. Although more and more powerful individuals are appearing, the competition is inevitably becoming increasingly fierce.