Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Nine Realms of Martial Arts

To be fair, the "Forging God Manual" that Dingling presented was no ordinary work. Many of its contents, at first glance, seemed obscure and difficult to understand, but upon closer examination, they revealed hidden mysteries and profound principles. If Xiao Chong hadn't specifically studied Taoism in his previous life, he truly wouldn't have been able to comprehend it.

The so-called "forging the spirit" is a method of cultivating the primordial spirit. Once mastered, the primordial spirit can leave the body and travel the world. If not killed by accident, one is practically immortal.

However, the spirit of the cauldron also clearly told Xiao Chong that the Tianyun Continent was very different from the original world. There was no such thing as a primordial spirit here. It was hopeless to cultivate to the realm mentioned in the "Forging God Chapter".

Even so, this cultivation method remains exceptionally rare. It should be understood that the Way of the Mind Master cultivates the spirit and intention, which has many similarities with the cultivation of the primordial spirit, and can even be said to be encompassed by the cultivation of the primordial spirit.

What is the primordial spirit? Taoist scriptures say that the primordial spirit is one's innate nature. It is the innate energy a person possesses at birth, the true meaning and essence of life. In contrast, the spirit and intention cultivated by practitioners are merely acquired thoughts. Comparing the two, the difference in quality is immediately apparent.

Therefore, after obtaining the "Forging God Manual", Xiao Chong was overjoyed and immediately devoted himself to its cultivation, not daring to delay at all.

Fortunately, this method is extremely profound and can be practiced only during breaks in martial arts training. Moreover, one feels refreshed and invigorated after practicing it.

Unlike the practice of the Nian Master, which requires long periods of sitting meditation each time, and whose physical strength is slightly depleted, causing fatigue and mental strain.

However, there was one problem: although this technique was good, as it could nourish one's qi and refresh one's mind, and assist in martial arts, Xiao Chong's life not only did not become any easier, but became even more miserable.

This suffering came entirely from the "devil" Xiao Fangzheng. "Devil" was Xiao Chong's new definition of Supervisor Xiao, because "perverted" was far from enough to describe just how "perverted" Xiao Fangzheng was.

In order to help Xiao Chong stand out in the hunting competition, or rather, to avoid being killed, Xiao Fangzheng not only increased his training volume but also added more training subjects.

Xiao Chong now practices his fist and foot techniques at least 30,000 times a day, and his weapon techniques 20,000 times a day—specifically, the cleaver that the middle-aged cultivator in the Martial Fortune Pavilion used as an extra. And that's not all; he also acquires a plethora of other strange and unusual skills, such as tracking, infiltration, and assassination.

The most terrifying thing was that at night, after an hour of Yuan Qi cultivation, Xiao Fangzheng would personally take a thick stick, as thick as a child's arm, and strike Xiao Chong, who was only wearing a pair of shorts, for another half hour, euphemistically called "resistance training".

It is said that doing this can improve resilience and strengthen the muscles and bones of the trainees. But Xiao Chong was very skeptical of this. He felt that he was more likely to die not in the hunting competition, but directly at the hands of Xiao Fangzheng, that terrible devil.

Of course, these projects were terrifying, but he could grit his teeth and get through them. Xiao Chong understood the principle that "no pain, no gain." What he truly found unbearable was the suffering he would endure when opening up the acupoints in his body.

In the martial arts cultivation of the Tianyun Continent, accumulating Yuan energy is merely a prerequisite; the number of acupoints opened within the body is the most important standard for a martial artist's combat strength.

There are 360 ​​acupoints in the human body, corresponding to the number of days in the cosmic cycle. These acupoints are distributed throughout the body and store a large amount of primordial energy. The dantian is the source of all acupoints. Martial artists absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth, compress and refine it in the dantian, and transform it into primordial energy.

Martial artists have an insatiable need for Yuan energy, but the dantian has a limited capacity, and it also has the function of converting Yuan energy. Imagine if the dantian were full of Yuan energy, where would they put any more absorbed Yuan energy?

Surely they wouldn't spread all those wisps throughout their bodies, turning a cultivator into a balloon? If any martial artist did that, they would inevitably explode and die. Such bloody lessons are countless in the cultivation history of the Tianyun Continent.

Therefore, they can only store more and more Yuan energy in the acupoints of their bodies and extract it when needed. So the problem arises: the more acupoints a martial artist of the same realm has opened, the more Yuan energy he can draw upon, the longer his stamina, and the stronger his combat power.

Unless one reaches the Martial Saint realm, where one can convert a large amount of vital energy into vital force with a single breath, one must honestly open up the acupoints in one's body.

The first seven realms of martial arts cultivation are divided according to the number of acupoints opened in a martial artist's body. From the moment a martial artist cultivates their first stream of Yuan Qi and becomes a martial apprentice, they can open acupoints in their body and then fill them with Yuan Qi.

When a martial artist has opened up 36 acupoints in their body, they can advance to the Martial Student realm. A martial artist who has opened up 72 acupoints can advance to the Martial Warrior realm.

As the number of acupoints increases to 108, 180, and 256, the practitioner will advance to the corresponding levels of Martial Master, Grandmaster, and Great Grandmaster. Once all 360 acupoints in the body are opened and filled with Yuan energy, the martial artist can enter the first level of the Transcendent Realm: the Martial Saint Realm.

A martial artist at the Martial Saint realm has already fully developed their internal acupoints. Further advancement is not as simple as accumulating Yuan energy; it requires comprehending and understanding some of the fundamental rules of this world, such as the rules of water, wind, and fire.

When a Martial Saint has a thorough understanding of one or more rules, and can master and utilize these rules to form their own domain, they will advance to the Martial Emperor level. Martial Emperors are essentially invincible within their respective domains.

Of course, this isn't absolute. For example, when both parties possess the same type of domain, it depends on which party is more familiar with their own domain and has a deeper understanding of the rules that form it. Furthermore, certain domains may counteract each other due to their attributes, such as water and fire being mutually exclusive, or metal and wood being mutually exclusive.

Once a Martial Emperor comprehends enough realms, or reaches the pinnacle of comprehension of a certain realm, to the point of being able to apply his knowledge to other realms, he is very likely to become a Martial God due to some opportunity.

The God of War represents the ultimate realm of martial arts cultivation, an absolutely terrifying existence in this world. They can resist all rules, break all rules, and even create entirely new rules, regarding all enemies as nothing.

Because the conditions for achieving this are so stringent, Martial Gods are almost never seen on the Tianyun Continent, generally existing only in various legends and ancient texts of certain top-tier families. At least in the last ten thousand years, there has never been any news of a Martial God being discovered anywhere, let alone anyone newly ascending to the rank of Martial God.