Yaoguang had no idea what was transpiring atop Mount Yujing.
At that moment, he remained at Mount Yuhuang Villa, cultivating diligently. With the aid of medicinal herbs, he continuously tempered his spirit intent while digesting the materials obtained from his trip to the Chixing Imperial Palace, using them to nurture the growth of his [Martial Path] branch.
The progress bar had jumped straight from 1 percent to 24 percent.
The numerical increase did not seem massive, yet it gave Yaoguang a true, profound understanding of how to select and commit to targets on the path of martial arts.
From the knowledge gathered by the ancient tree, cultivation extended beyond Fiendgod Body Refining into qi refining, spirit refining, and dao comprehension.
However, going by the records in the Liao family archive and the texts provided by the Jishi Society, Yaoguang found that the Artifact Sect made no mention of "dao comprehension" as an established system, though its classifications for qi refining and spirit refining were extraordinarily meticulous.
The realm where the Artifact Sect resided was recorded in the texts as the Cangwu Great World.
The Artifact Nurturing Realm was merely one of the stars adorning the void beyond Cangwu.
Within Cangwu, cultivators were broadly divided into four major paths: body cultivators, sword cultivators, spell cultivators, and spirit cultivators.
Through countless years of refinement, these four disciplines had evolved into incomparably specialized arts.
Taking body cultivators as an example, they branched into distinct specializations such as assault, defense, endurance, perception, interception, anti-air, and sabotage.
Sword cultivators were no different, differentiating themselves across breaching fortifications, rapid strikes, stealth, close-quarters combat, saturation bombardment, long-range fire, reconnaissance, and more.
Beginning at the ninth tier of body refining—Star Transformation—a cultivator reached their first major bottleneck. Many remained stalled there for the rest of their lives.
Consequently, the information unlocked at 24 percent progress was split evenly between combat technique and cultivation theory.
"Body cultivators emphasize stability, endurance, and low consumption. Sword cultivators focus on speed, range, and sudden burst attacks. Spell cultivators excel in overwhelming area-of-effect damage… Different opponents demand entirely different approaches…"
As Yaoguang digested the influx of knowledge, a realization dawned on him.
Whether body or sword cultivation, the divine abilities and spells of this world had been pushed to their absolute theoretical limits over the ages.
Spells and divine powers that had once leveled whole cities had been streamlined and simplified time and again, allowing even low-tier cultivators to wield them.
The defining trait born of this evolution was an absurd overflow of lethal power.
Some spell cultivators of the Seventh Heaven could unleash spells meant for mighty figures who had achieved Foundation Establishment; a single cast could wipe out a whole swath of Ninth Heaven body cultivators.
Yet wielding spells far beyond one's tier came at a ruinous cost.
Once the spell cultivator unleashed that one devastating strike, their true essence would be entirely drained. Even a Fourth Heaven body cultivator walking up afterward could easily take their life.
Extremes.
The paths cultivators walked had become thoroughly polarized.
The primary reason for this was that, over countless millennia, every cultivation system had swelled into something overwhelmingly vast and intricate. Throughout a cultivator's entire lifespan, pushing a system to its end was out of the question—merely reaching the pinnacle of a single spell branch within a specialized field was already a monumental feat.
For instance, take a Foundation Establishment-grade spell available to a Seventh Heaven spell cultivator on the path of destruction. Even after learning it, that cultivator had to dedicate years to refining it further: enhancing its destructive force, extending its reach, expanding its blast radius, reducing its true essence cost, speeding up the cast time, and guaranteeing its accuracy.
Every conceivable variable had to be weighed.
The influence of five-element qi on the spell; how the curvature of the horizon interfered with target precision; aerodynamics, drag principles, balance theory, and more.
On top of that, there was how different dharma artifacts and treasures might amplify or dampen the spell's power.
How the enemy's spells might disrupt one's own.
How to maximize damage in the chaos of battle.
There was simply too much to learn.
So much so that countless spell cultivators spent their entire lives mastering only a single spell.
Sword cultivators were much the same, spending their lifetimes honing just one flying sword.
And for the body cultivation path corresponding to Yaoguang's Fiendgod Body Refining, defensive arts, explosive finishing moves, and the Hunyuan Flawless physique similarly demanded relentless study.
This 24 percent surge in progress unexpectedly stirred in Yaoguang the familiar dread of being dominated by graduate school entrance exams.
"It really is complicated… A martial artist's mental power is called spirit intent, focused on the intimidation of 'momentum'; its range is short, but it carries formidable lethal force. A cultivator's mental power is called divine sense, possessing moderate range and focusing on precise control, such as guiding flying swords or shaping true essence into spells. Meanwhile, the mental power of spirit-refining cultivators is known as divine mind, vast in scope and centered on exploration and perception…"
Yaoguang reflected on the new information.
"A high-tier spirit cultivator can project their divine mind over a hundred li. For those who have established an Immortal Foundation, it can reach upwards of ten thousand li."
Ten thousand li.
What did that even mean?
With a single sweep of divine mind, more than half the world would fall within their awareness!
Yaoguang let out a long breath.
If not for the fact that a [Spirit Path] branch had yet to sprout on his tree, he would have been tempted to cultivate both.
Fortunately, though 24 percent progress at the ninth tier did not detail the realms beyond the Ninth Heaven of Fiendgod Body Refining, it did offer glimpses of their miraculous traits.
It seemed…
Martial artists who transcended the Ninth Heaven could harmonize with a planet's force field, drawing upon planetary power to bolster themselves to the point where even a direct nuclear blast could not harm them in the slightest.
"That is what I'd call a baseline guarantee of safety," Yaoguang murmured with feeling.
He wished he could step into that realm this very instant.
Yet he knew full well it could not be rushed.
This was the very first monumental watershed in any cultivator's life.
The gulf was even wider than that between Grandmaster and Martial Saint; breaking through was bound to be an arduous trial.
He had to lay a solid foundation, step by step, before mounting a charge toward that peak.
As he pondered this, a distinct aroma reached his nose.
Momentarily, Aili arrived, carrying a freshly decocted batch of medicinal broth.
"Young Master, I have decocted the herbs with the new combination you requested, but… the taste might be rather unpleasant."
"Mm."
Yaoguang nodded.
The reason he had instructed Aili to alter the combination was that among the herbs obtained from Griffin Garden, one was a primary ingredient for the Soul Casting Pill. That was a recipe he had acquired back at Tier 6 of [Martial Path], renowned for significantly expanding mental power and helping coalesce spirit intent, divine sense, and divine mind.
Previously, he had lacked the necessary ingredients, but now that circumstances allowed, he naturally wanted to give it a try.
After downing the medicinal concoction prepared according to the Soul Casting Pill formula, he promptly entered a state of visualization.
Yet before the meditation had lasted more than a few moments, his expression changed.
In less than ten minutes, he decisively manipulated his internal organs and vomited every drop of the medicine back up.
"Young Master!" Aili cried out in alarm from the side, panic written all over her face.
"It wasn't your doing."
Yaoguang waved a hand, motioning for her to take the decoction away.
"I made it out to be too simple."
He recalled the Soul Casting Pill's description in his mind.
*Must be concocted by an alchemist.*
He had assumed that boiling down the prescribed herbs would yield at least ten or twenty percent of the genuine pill's efficacy, saving him a tremendous amount of cultivation time even if it fell short of perfection.
Instead…
He had nearly poisoned himself.
"Alchemy," Yaoguang thought with a touch of regret.
Resources provided immediate, tangible boosts to cultivation.
The major factions secured their absolute dominance over the Cangwu World precisely by monopolizing those resources.
Among them, medicinal pills were paramount.
Particularly in the early stages, as long as one's supply of pills held out, cultivation progress could advance by leaps and bounds.
*The ancient tree hasn't sprouted any new branches so far. Perhaps it's because Martial Saint, Spirit Intent Martial Saint, and Hunyuan Martial Saint all belong to the same overarching realm. Once I reach the Heavenly Being stage, a new branch should appear. And the profession it unlocks depends on what I engage with during this period…*
Yaoguang had originally wanted to unlock a new profession along the lines of [Sword Cultivator] or [Spell Cultivator].
If nothing else, they looked undeniably magnificent.
Riding a sword into the azure vault, roaming freely across the nine heavens—was that not far more carefree and dashing than [Martial Path]?
Yet considering he had already pushed [Martial Path] to Tier 9, picking up [Sword Cultivator] would feel somewhat redundant.
Besides, unlocking a profession did not guarantee an immediate surge in strength.
Looking at the present situation…
Unlocking the [Alchemy] profession as soon as possible was the true path forward.
Right now, he would be stuck at the spirit intent stage for several months, and forging a Heavenly Being body would require a year or two of tempering within the Heaven and Earth Furnace at the very least.
Beyond that, the body would demand even further refinement.
If he merely followed the standard routine, it might take him eight or ten years just to reach the peak of Tier 9.
Reaching the peak of the Ninth Heaven of Fiendgod Body Refining in ten years would have others rejoicing with wild abandon.
But Yaoguang… had no desire to wait that long.
Now that he knew of a way to drastically shorten the journey, why not pursue it?
*I must keep practicing alchemy. If for nothing else, then to unlock it as a secondary profession.*
A craftsman who wishes to do good work must first sharpen his tools.
Medicinal pills were the ultimate shortcut for cultivation.
With those thoughts in mind, Yaoguang immersed himself back into training, savoring the steady sensation of evolution and growth, losing himself completely in the process.
…
Several days later.
Kong Fang hurried in with urgent news.
"A catastrophe has struck. The Xuelong Empire and the Rebirth Society have gone to all-out war."
His expression was grave. "At the outset, the Xuelong Empire launched a 'Cataclysm' missile armed with nine nuclear warheads, completely leveling the Rebirth Society's stronghold. Yet within the very same hour, the Rebirth Society's counterstrike fell upon them. They hypnotically seized control of Xuelong's high command, triggering the total collapse of both the 'World End' and 'Judicator' defense systems. During the breakdown, over a hundred nuclear warheads detonated across Xuelong's own soil, forcing them to shut down every active nuclear warhead in their arsenal…"
"Xuelong and the Rebirth Society are in an all-out war?"
Yaoguang was taken aback.
He might have believed it if Chixing had declared war on the Rebirth Society, but Xuelong…
Xuelong had driven the Rebirth Society out long ago, and the society rarely operated within the West Continent, which Xuelong controlled.
Why had Xuelong suddenly come to blows with them now?
"Our investigation is still underway, but as early as three days ago, scouts detected immense energy signatures atop Mount Yujing. Before that, Xuelong had issued a public notice regarding a high-energy weapons test—an announcement they make several times a year, so few organizations paid it any mind. Now, thorough reconnaissance confirms those signatures were the detonation of nuclear weapons…"
"Mount Yujing is the very frontline where Xuelong and Chixing face off! Detonating nuclear weapons there? Does Xuelong intend to ignite a world war with Chixing?"
Yaoguang's expression grew strange.
"If they truly wanted war, they would have waged it during the Era of Turmoil rather than waiting until now," Kong Fang replied, shaking his head. "I checked with the Jishi Society's intelligence channels. Their conclusion is that internal turmoil erupted within Xuelong. The pro-war and pro-peace factions developed irreconcilable differences, which ultimately fractured the nation and escalated into open warfare! Chixing is delighted by this turn of events, so apart from heightening their alert status, they haven't launched any retaliatory nuclear strikes of their own."
"It seems this unprecedented shift of the century has reached its most critical turning point."
Yaoguang's mood turned somber as well. "Keep investigating."
Kong Fang nodded and swiftly withdrew.
Once Kong Fang was gone, Yaoguang let himself sink back into the mountain and earth-vein momentum, using it to temper his flesh and feeling his physique grow stronger with every passing day.
"A Heavenly Being body," he murmured.
"It's so slow!"
Even with the constant tempering of the mountain and earth-vein momentum, truly forging a Heavenly Being body would still take at least a year.
Unless…
He achieved another breakthrough in cultivation,
Elevating Fiendgod Body Refining from its current 24 percent at Tier 9 straight into an entirely new realm comparable to establishing a Dao Foundation.
Chapter 107