I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 308 - 180: High-Level World·Xuanji Realm

Chapter 308: Chapter 180: High-Level World·Xuanji Realm

[High-tier World: Xuanji Realm]

[Task: Successfully pass the tribulation and ascend to the higher realm]

Gu Shanhai glanced at the task and decided to give two years of his lifespan to the "First Epoch." This task was even harder than becoming an Advanced Scholar in the two-martial faction examination. With his talent and abilities, ascending would take at least a hundred years; even if he had the time, he wouldn’t pursue ascension.

Go to the higher realm and be a weakling?

He was doing just fine in this Xuanji Realm. As one of the newly opened major worlds, its initial power level was already very high, much stronger than the previous three major realms he had experienced.

As a cultivation world with an ascendable higher realm, this signified a series of complete follow-ups, unlike the first three worlds where the ceiling and potential depended entirely on the natives and the world itself.

"Everything is pretty decent; it’s just that the cultivation method in this world is a bit harsh."

The harshness Gu Shanhai spoke of wasn’t about the underworld type of cultivation, but rather the cultivators’ terrifying acts towards the world.

Just like hijacking the natural laws, seizing the mysteries of the sun and the moon. After the formation of elixirs, the heavens and earth could no longer contain them, and various disasters and tribulations would ensue continuously.

He rummaged through his mind and recalled some bits about the cultivation hierarchy of the Xuanji Realm.

"Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Purple Palace—these are the Lower Three Realms."

These three stages were comparatively manageable. To reach the Qi Refinement Realm, one needed the energy from heaven and earth, such as Yang Qi, Yin Qi, Great Sun True Qi, etc., then use Cultivation Technique to plunder and integrate them into the body as Qi seeds, which commenced Qi Refinement.

These energies were rare and precious; for example, Yang Qi could be collected where there were many people, Yin Qi could be sourced from chaotic burial grounds and graveyards, while energies like the Great Sun True Qi and Innate Mother Qi were scarce and not accessible to ordinary disciples. Moreover, refining such energies required superior Cultivation Techniques, resources, and environmental conditions.

If Qi Refinement used the energy from heaven and earth, Foundation Establishment utilized the essence of all things, such as the Five Elements Essence, Taiyin Moonlight, etc., to form the Dao Foundation. The higher the quality of these essences used, the stronger the foundation formed.

Moving to the next stage, the Purple Palace required divine materials and treasures, the rarity of which goes without saying. Even though the Xuanji Realm was much stronger compared to the worlds Gu Shanhai had previously encountered, and had more divine materials and treasures, there were also more cultivators.

As for the stages beyond Purple Palace, there were no records in the bits Gu Shanhai brought back, which seemed because they were of no use to him, assuming he might not reach those stages.

However, it could roughly be guessed that these stages likely involved tribulations connected to ’Elixir,’ the type accompanied by tribulations.

Gu Shanhai speculated that the people in this world probably did not possess the autonomous ability to adapt and evolve in relation to external environments, unlike some immortal and fantasy worlds. Typically, there’s a Body Refining Stage before the Qi Refinement Realm, relying purely on self-cultivation to generate Mana-like energy.

In this world, it’s different; the Qi seed plundered into the body determines its energy attribute, which does not form Mana.

Every breakthrough by cultivators here was a damage to the entire world.

Accordingly, the strength of the cultivators in this world was extremely formidable. Generally, cultivators of the Xuanji Realm could be among the top ten of similar realms, and even have the ability to kill enemies of a higher stage.

If this world could aggress and colonize externally, turning its internal consumption into external consumption, it could survive; otherwise, it was doomed to die, either consumed by the cultivators or destroyed by the world itself—peaceful coexistence was straight out impossible.

Though each realm seemed to require just a bit of material, with a large base population and more cultivators, not to mention those of intermediate and high stages, the varieties and quantities of materials needed for breakthroughs were profoundly precious.

Not to mention, the cultivation process also required a hefty amount of assistance, including various elixirs, environmental energies, etc.

The world itself indeed had the capability to recover, provided the cultivators allowed it the opportunity to recuperate. Everyone was consuming; if one consumes more, another has to consume less—no one would want to stop and lose.

"So under these circumstances, it’s best to find a reputable sect to join," Gu Shanhai thought simply, "just as it is nice to enjoy the shade under a big tree." The Qi seeds needed in the Qi Refinement Realm were manageable; merely requiring a good Cultivation Technique to self-harvest the energies from heaven and earth. Although the essence of all things needed for the Foundation Establishment Stage wasn’t as ubiquitous as the energies from heaven and earth, relying on his abilities and sacrificing some lifespan made it feasible, though the matching Cultivation Techniques were harder to come by and needed modifications.

By the time of reaching the Purple Palace, both the required divine materials and the techniques for this stage became challenging to obtain, mainly due to the immense leap this world required.

Already beyond the mundane, as Gu Shanhai calculated from memory, the Qi Refinement Realm equated to about level 25 for a player, Foundation Establishment soared to level 60, and Purple Palace reached 100, with the world’s limit around level 300.

It seemed a bit odd, but beyond level 100, not only did players need a huge amount of experience, reaching certain levels required completing specific upgrade tasks along with corresponding professional skill requirements, etc. Of course, this wasn’t without reward; every upgrade provided way more attributes than before, and if tasks were excellently accomplished, there might even be skill rewards, talent bonuses, or permanent status enhancements.