Chapter 1748 : Forging the Mortal Path

With a sincere desire to forge a path of cultivation for all living beings, Eldrin Chen immediately lowered his gaze and began to contemplate and deduce a method of practice.

Given Eldrin Chen's current cultivation level and comprehension, if he disregarded potential for future growth, he could likely deduce a cultivation path comparable to the Golden Core Realm or even the Nascent Soul Realm in a single moment of thought.

However, a cultivation path that merely stops at the Fourth or Fifth Rank Realm would ultimately be considered crude and unrefined, something countless Heavenly Immortal Paragon across the heavens could easily accomplish.

Considering the need to connect mortals to the immortal path, Eldrin Chen proceeded with great caution in his deductions.

"Mortals cannot sense spiritual energy [the vital essence that permeates the world and fuels cultivation]. Therefore, at the beginning of their cultivation, they can only follow the path of strengthening the Physical Body."

"Thus, the first realm should be the cultivation of the Physical Body."

Eldrin Chen murmured to himself and immediately began calculating the method for Physical Body cultivation.

This first realm was the most rudimentary; Eldrin Chen completed its deduction in mere moments.

Unlike the cultivation paths of the primordial Human Ancestral Sages who emulated the ancient behemoths of the primordial chaos, the body-refining method created by Eldrin Chen focused on internal refinement of the self.

This first realm's body-refining method was further divided into six steps: tempering the skin, refining the tendons, renewing the blood, forging the bones, refining the organs, and casting the body. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at audio-novel.com.

The first five stages are cultivated through specialized techniques combined with copious amounts of flesh and blood medicines. These five stages can be practiced simultaneously or sequentially, with no inherent order of precedence.

The sixth stage, Body Forging, requires the complete and flawless mastery and integration of the preceding five stages to successfully forge the Martial Path True Body.

Upon achieving the Martial Path True Body, the cultivation method for the first realm, Physical Body, is considered complete.

This first realm's method of tempering the flesh can drastically enhance combat prowess. According to Eldrin Chen's calculations, an existence that has cultivated the Martial Path True Body could single-handedly lift a massive cauldron weighing tens of thousands of Jin-weight [one Jin-weight equals zero point five kilograms], and withstand attacks from the ninth layer of Qi Refinement with their Physical Body alone.

In truth, cultivation methods modeled after the ancient primordial behemoths should, in principle, be capable of reaching such heights, though progress beyond this point becomes increasingly arduous.

However, Eldrin Chen's method was specifically created for the Human Race [the collective of human cultivators and mortals], making it exceptionally compatible with the human Physical Body. Practicing it inflicts minimal damage to the Physical Body, thus not hindering future potential. On the contrary, it continuously enhances the cultivator's latent capabilities.

By Eldrin Chen's estimation, even an individual with notoriously poor innate talent, once they complete the cultivation of Martial Dao Body Forging and achieve the Martial Path True Body, their foundational bone structure and aptitude would undergo a profound transformation, becoming a one-in-ten-thousand cultivation prodigy.

"It is a process of tempering the meridians and cleansing the marrow through Martial Dao Body Forging, a transcendence from Mortal [a being without cultivation] into the extraordinary."

"This does not merely excavate the latent potential within the Physical Body; rather, it perpetually strengthens the Deep-Seated Foundation [the fundamental, hidden potential of a cultivator's body and spirit] of the Physical Body. It is akin to planting a seed within the Physical Body, awaiting the day it grows into a towering tree."

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, a glimmer of light flickering deep within his eyes.

The mortal Physical Body is frail and weak; even if it possesses some latent potential, how many times can it truly withstand being excavated?

Do you truly believe the Physical Body of the Human Race possesses boundless potential, that if mined to its absolute limit, it could rival an entire Cosmos?

Eldrin Chen understood clearly that compared to this Boundless Cosmos, to the myriad stars of the great thousand worlds, the Physical Body of the Human Race was truly insignificant.

It was like a single grain of dust. No matter how exquisitely you carve it, you cannot build a towering edifice upon it.

Only by allowing this grain of dust to expand continuously, to gather the dust of the Boundless Cosmos and coalesce into a radiant Nine Heavens Star Fragment, could infinite possibilities arise.

"The first realm of the Martial Dao Body Forging is the initial step of Martial Dao Foundation Establishment,"

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, then lowered his gaze once more to attempt deducing the second realm.

Because one lacks a Spiritual Root, even after forging the Martial Path True Body, a cultivator still cannot refine the spiritual energy [the vital energy that flows through all living things] from the Heavenly Layers.

Upon reaching this stage, advancing further becomes increasingly arduous.

However, Eldrin Chen had long devised a countermeasure. Since one cannot obtain spiritual energy from the external world, then let it be generated from within.

Therefore, the second realm of the Martial Path is also named the Qi Refining Realm. However, this Qi Refining is not the same as that Qi Refining.

The Qi Refining of the Immortal Path [the primary cultivation system seeking longevity and transcendence] emphasizes refining from the outside in, directly absorbing and refining the spiritual energy [the vital energy that flows through all living things and the world] from the Heavenly Layers [the higher atmospheric strata rich in spiritual energy]. This method of cultivation is relatively simple and swift.

In stark contrast, Martial Dao Qi Refining [the Qi Refining stage of the Martial Path] is exceptionally brutal. It is practiced by those who have forged a Martial Path True Body [a physique tempered to its peak through martial arts]. They refine the essence of their own flesh and blood into True Essence [the foundational energy of the Martial Path], opening a sea of energy within their dantian [the core energy center in the lower abdomen].

Refining the essence of one's flesh and blood is akin to personally burning one's own substance to exchange for True Qi [the refined energy produced by Martial Path cultivators]. Consequently, Martial Dao Qi Refining is an agonizing process. Without special techniques or Pill [refined medicinal elixirs], one would need a hundred times the perseverance required for Self-Guided Foundation Establishment [a difficult, unaided method of advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm] to succeed.

Furthermore, a practitioner of Martial Dao Qi Refining must constantly consume vast quantities of flesh, blood, and medicinal herbs to replenish the vital essence consumed by their cultivation.

Having deduced this far, Eldrin Chen understood that due to the fundamental difference in their cultivation methods, the temperament and willpower of a Martial Dao Qi Refining practitioner should far surpass that of the vast majority of Foundation Establishment Cultivator [cultivators who have solidified their foundation, the stage above Qi Refining]. Experience the full epic at audio novel.com.

Additionally, for a Martial Dao Qi Refining practitioner, the True Qi within their body is hard-won. Therefore, once they unleash their full power in battle and deplete their True Essence, recovering it would likely take ten times longer than it would for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to recover their energy.

For example, after a major battle where a Foundation Establishment Cultivator exhausts their Mana [the spiritual energy used to cast spells and techniques], they could recover to peak condition in just three to five days by meditating on a Spirit Vein [a natural concentration of spiritual energy within the earth]. In contrast, a Martial Dao Qi Refining practitioner would need to gorge themselves for an entire month to fully recuperate.

Of course, should the world ever enter a Dharma-Ending Age [an era where spiritual energy and the Dao fade from the world], a time when the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Layers dries up, Immortal Path cultivators would face a dead end. Practitioners of the Martial Path would fare somewhat better.

"Upon reaching the pinnacle of Martial Dao Qi Refining, one should then forge their Dao Foundation [the solidified spiritual base for future advancement]."

Having completed the deduction of the second realm, Qi Refining, of the Martial Path, Eldrin Chen immediately began to deduce the cultivation method for the third realm of the Martial Path.

According to Eldrin Chen's estimation, once Martial Dao Qi Refining reached perfection, the True Qi would be brimming and flawless, allowing for certain actions to be taken.

If one were to emulate the methods of the immortal path, the next step would be to channel True Essence [the refined life-force energy of a martial cultivator] through the Celestial Meridian of the spine to open the Upper Dantian [the third and highest energy center located in the forehead, associated with spiritual consciousness], thereby enhancing one's Divinal Soul [the spiritual core of a cultivator] and beginning to touch upon more profound cultivation principles.

However, Eldrin Chen understood clearly that attempting to open the Upper Dantian while still in the Martial Dao Qi Refining realm would be nothing short of courting death.

The pain and difficulty of piercing the Celestial Meridian were secondary; the most critical issue was the immense consumption of True Essence Mana [a term for spiritual energy or life force] and spiritual energy [the vital energy that flows through all living things and the world itself] it required.

Immortal path cultivators possessed Spiritual Root [an innate spiritual organ that allows one to absorb and refine spiritual energy from the world], enabling them to directly refine spiritual energy to replenish themselves and also refine various Spiritual Object [objects imbued with or containing spiritual energy] and rare treasures.

But martial path cultivators could only refine essence into Qi [a process of converting physical vitality into energy]; they relied almost entirely on their own willpower and True Essence, making the chance of success virtually zero.

Attempting to open the Upper Dantian at this stage was akin to seeking one's own demise. Therefore, Eldrin Chen sought other methods and eventually conceived of a substitute for the Spiritual Root—the Dao Foundation Forging [Forging the Foundation of the Dao].

So-called Dao Foundation Forging involved constructing a foundation for attaining the Dao within the Dantian [the primary energy center in the lower abdomen].

After his deductions, Eldrin Chen discovered that while Qi Refinement [the Qi Refining realm] martial artists could not refine the ethereal spiritual energy, they *could* refine various types of Baleful Qi [malevolent or destructive energies, often found in places of slaughter, death, or negative emotions].

Such as Subterranean Fire Miasma [a corrosive, fiery spiritual energy found deep underground], Netherworld Turbid Miasma [a murky, yin-aspected spiritual energy from the underworld], Vast Sea Water Miasma [a dense, water-aspected spiritual energy from the deep ocean], and even various forms of Celestial Yang Qi [the pure, positive spiritual energy of the heavens] could all be refined.

By using True Essence [the purified foundational energy of a cultivator] to absorb various types of Baleful Qi [malevolent or extreme spiritual energies], one could construct a Dao Platform [a foundational spiritual structure within the dantian] within the body. By inscribing special Formation Patterns [mystical energy-channeling diagrams] upon it, this Dao Platform could then serve as a foundation to draw spiritual energy from the layers between the Heavenly Layers [the stratified realms of heaven].

For instance, using Fire Fiend Qi [a violent, fiendish fire energy] to achieve Foundation Establishment [the second major stage of cultivation] would allow one to draw upon Fire Spiritual Qi [ambient fire-aspected spiritual energy]. Using water-aspected baleful energy for Foundation Establishment would grant access to Water Spiritual Qi [ambient water-aspected spiritual energy]. If one used the combination of Celestial Yang and Earthly Miasma [the pure yang energy of heaven and the turbid yin energy of earth] to achieve Foundation Establishment, they could draw upon nearly all spiritual energies under heaven.

Cultivating these types of Baleful Qi was an excruciatingly painful process. In the past, Corin Chen had merely consumed a single Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm] that had been tainted by a trace of Subterranean Fire Miasma, yet the agony was so unbearable that he took his own life. This served as a stark testament to the profound difficulty of this path. Support the author by reading on audio-novel-dot-com.