When he returned home, other than the initial quarreling with the man living opposite, these few days were considered to be idle. Chen Chao was preparing spirit medicines and starting a new round of tempering his body. Hence, he was grinding the medicinal herbs all the time now and adjusting the ratio. One stalk of spirit medicine after another was placed into the mortar and pestle by him and slowly ground. When the spirit medicines were crushed, the fragrance that belonged to spirit medicines would spread out and fill the entire courtyard, making people feel refreshed just by inhaling some of the aromas.
While Chen Chao prepared those spirit medicines, he was also flipping through a booklet.
That was something issued by the warden government office along with another demon illustration booklet; a total of two books. The latter recorded various demons that were commonly seen in the Great Liang Dynasty, making it convenient for the warden to carry out investigations. The former explained each realm for martial artists as well as the spirit medicines required. The two books were both very important things to Chen Chao who was advancing along the path of martial arts.
"Are you fumbling your way ? Aren't you scared that something will go wrong without having a real famous teacher next to you?"
Xie Nandu sometimes felt that this youth in black shirt was very cautious. But she would also often feel that this youth in black shirt was rather bold. The path of cultivation rarely had those who became talented through self-study, especially for immortal cultivators. When they start to embark on the path of cultivation, there would be teachers guiding them after they enter the sect, daoist magics summarized by countless predecessors, and even medicinal pills to supplement. Hence, under such perfect conditions, the cultivators of major sects would always reach greater heights than ordinary small sects.
Could it be that the Chen Chao in front of her had prepared ready plans for these things because he was a genius?
"You're really quite bold."
Xie Nandu sat in front of the stove, her petite face flushed. She continued muttering to herself, "I wonder what's cultivation like..."
Chen Chao carefully put the powdered medicinal herbs into a small bottle and put it away carefully. Only then, did he glance at Xie Nandu and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you're very long-winded?"
Xie Nandu frowned, her petite face turning somewhat red. Seemingly realizing that she lost composure, she was silent for a while before asking, "Can you tell me about those cultivation realms? I really want to know."
"White Deer's Xie Clan is so stingy until they won't even tell you this?"
Chen Chao lowered his head and carefully cleaned the medicinal herb in his hands.
"Mind your own business. Are you telling or not?"
Xie Nandu stared at Chen Chao.
"There's nothing to say. After you arrive at the Divine Capital, you'll know everything." Chen Chao did not even lift his head, pondering about the medicinal herb ratio afterward.
"Ten pieces of skygold currency!" Xie Nandu shook the money bag in her hand. The sound of skygold currency colliding was very pleasant.
Chen Chao smiled faintly, "I didn't want to say it at first, but seeing that you're so eager to learn, I can't bear to refuse you either..."
He reached his hand out and raised his eyebrow.
What this meant was self-evident.
Xie Nandu took out five pieces of skygold currency expressionlessly.
"Isn't it ten pieces?"
Chen Chao furrowed his brows. He stared at the young girl in front of him with an unfriendly expression.
Xie Nandu put away the money bag. There was a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth.
Chen Chao snorted coldly, but did not say anything else. He cleared his throat.
"In the world of cultivation, there are many cultivation schools of thought. But after all is said and done, they are actually just divided into three categories. The first is immortal cultivators. Next is martial artists. Lastly, it's demonic cultivators."
"To humans, there's only the distinction of immortal cultivators and martial artists. Although the two are different, the division of realms are the same; both have six realms."
"The first realm is called Spell Controlling. But immortal cultivators commonly call it Initial Realm. Cultivating daoist magics can form functional activities of qi within the body. When one is able to operate daoist magic and let it bloom between heaven and earth, like a flower blooming, they would have truly crossed the threshold of cultivation and can be called a cultivator."
"The second realm is Spirit Platform; cultivating a spirit platform within the body. The size of the platform determines how strong you are. It also determines whether your future path will be easy or not. It's said that when the average cultivator introspects their inner-world, their spirit platform is merely the size of a millstone. But for those true geniuses, the spirit platform will only be larger. As for the upper limits, I don't know."
"Then how big is your spirit platform?"
Having said that, Xie Nandu already opened her mouth to interrupt before Chen Chao could continue to speak, looking at him curiously.
The corners of Chen Chao's mouth twitched and he shook his head, "It's a secret."
It was not that he did not want to say it, but that he really could not say it. Was he going to tell her that when he stepped into Spirit Platform Realm back then, the spirit platform within his body was smaller than a millstone?
After returning to his senses, he continued, "After Spirit Platform is Divine Trove; which is the third realm. In this realm, one's divine soul will become incomparably tough and one will know all about the wonders of cultivation. One would already be a remarkable cultivator."
"Bitter Sea Realm is the most important link in cultivation. Who knows how many geniuses in the world have fallen in front of this realm. If one can't cross Bitter Sea, they wouldn't count as a genuine powerhouse."
At this point, Chen Chao paused for a bit and said softly, "After crossing the bitter sea, flowers on the opposite shore will bloom. That's the fifth realm, the Great Beyond Realm."[TL note: a Buddhism term. It means 'the other shore', or paradise.]
"After walking all the roads that should be walked and seeing all the sights that should be seen, in the end? If one can forget the suffering and worries in the world, one would no longer be able to be defeated by others. They would become a peerless powerhouse that can be recorded in the annals of history."
Chen Chao said seriously, "The final realm is Nepenthe Realm."
When cultivators in the world reached Nepenthe this realm, they would be the strongest in the entire human world. Virtually none would dare to provoke. After all, cultivators at this level could affect the overall situation in the world with a wave of their hand.
As for martial artists...
Even if they chanced upon deities in heaven, martial artists who had reached this realm would dare to fight too.
Except, it was seriously too difficult to want to reach this realm according to the cultivation difficulty for martial artists.
In the entire Great Liang Dynasty, martial artists in this realm were probably all in the northern frontier.
"What realm are you currently in?" Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, her eyes twinkling with a curious glow.
But Chen Chao ignored her. He just shrugged and asked for the remaining five pieces of skygold currency. "You didn't say that you wanted to ask this question before. If you want to hear, you'll have to pay extra... and still get nothing out of me."
Seeing that the other party immediately took out her money bag when he opened his mouth with the intention of spending money recklessly, Chen Chao immediately changed his tune and did not want to say anymore.
Xie Nandu took out the remaining five pieces of skygold currency and placed them in Chen Chao's palm as she said rather disappointedly, "A little boring."
Chen Chao put away the money and continued to grind his spirit medicines. But, he still casually said, "You can talk about the stories that you know of. That one about Sword Qi Mountain previously was pretty good."
Chen Chao was actually still lacking a complete understanding of the whole world. But, he did not want to make it too obvious either.
"Stories are all written by bystanders. It's hard to say whether or not they are real. Just take that previous story about Sword Qi Mountain for example, there are actually many doubtful points. Sword Qi Mountain has always been harmonious and doesn't compete with others. Why would they wipe out the other party's entire sect because the price that they offered was too low? But there doesn't seem to be too many people who care about the unequivocal truth."
"The demon race lies in the north. As long as they stay in the north and stop going southward, I assume that they will think that it's a great thing."
Xie Nandu muttered, "One can see the sun if they look up, but they can never see the former capital."
Chen Chao was stunned, but he still remained silent.
"You're definitely going to become a cultivator in the future. Three Sects and Nine Schools of Thought, there are many diverse paths. Do you have any specific direction?"
Chen Chao asked this at the behest of supernatural powers.
Among cultivators, sword cultivators were famous for their killing prowess. A flying sword could decapitate someone from a thousand miles away. It was an out-and-out sword immortal ability. Qi refiners absorbed heaven and earth destiny for their own use. They had a great affinity with Heavenly Dao and their cultivation was the smoothest. Talisman cultivators shouldered the weight of cultivation with a single piece of yellow talisman. When their cultivation reached a realm that was difficult to understand, a single piece of yellow talisman could bring forth a great horror...
Apart from these, there were also many other directions of cultivation; similar to demon exorcists among qi refiners. Which was also that person who was bashed to death by Chen Chao before.
After Xie Nandu entered the Divine Capital this time, she would definitely be entering the academy barring any accidents. Then, she would be joining the Confucianism Sect. But, that was just a component of Dao teachings, it did not involve her cultivation direction in the future.
"Why don't I become a martial artist too?"
Xie Nandu's petite face had some desire to try it out.
A female martial artist, knocking dead anyone who came after that?
The moment Chen Chao imagined that scenario, he felt somewhat terrified. Hurriedly shaking his head, he stopped thinking too much.
If such a beautiful young girl were to really become a female martial artist one day, that visual would be too scary.
Xie Nandu was actually very clear about her future fate. Becoming a martial artist was just in jest. 3000 Great Daos, the least likely one that she would set foot on was the path of a martial artist.
Chen Chao who had earned ten pieces of skygold currency decided to ignore the young girl in front of him and began the final preparations. After preparing all of the medicinal powder, he stood up and left the corridor.
Xie Nandu sat in front of the stove, it was unknown what she was thinking about. It was just that as she was lost in thought, she could not help laughing out loud.
But who knew how long this kind of quiet and beautiful days could last.