Chapter 247 : The True Lord's Karmic Sermon

The Verdant-robed Immortal Maiden smiled and continued, "The Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range has only a few hundred Violet Sanctum Cultivator. I've met over half of them, and even those I haven't, I've heard of. It's only natural I'd recognize you, a newcomer."

Eldrin Chen nodded in agreement. Though the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range stretched for tens of millions of Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], it ultimately lacked a sufficient mortal population as a foundation. The number of Human Race cultivators here was indeed relatively sparse.

Most cultivators in this region hailed from either the Tianlu Continent or the Ji Continent.

The Verdant-robed Immortal Maiden seemed about to say more but quickly composed herself, her expression turning serious. She straightened her robes and settled into a proper, dignified seated posture.

For in the distant void, a figure clad in long robes had appeared upon the Path Platform [a platform used for lectures on cultivation and the Dao].

"We pay our respects to Vast Righteousness True Lord."

In unison, the assembly bowed respectfully, their expressions filled with reverence.

The Vast Righteousness True Lord acknowledged them with a calm nod, gesturing for everyone to be seated. His gaze then swept across the gathered cultivators.

Only then did Eldrin Chen get a clear look at the Vast Righteousness True Lord. His features were as fine as carved jade, appearing no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His eyes held a profound, starry depth, and between his brows rested an innate, commanding dignity that required no display of anger to be felt.

The Vast Righteousness True Lord surveyed the assembly once more. With a light brush of his sleeve, he began to speak, his voice calm and clear. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at audio-novel . com.

"Before the sermon begins, you must understand that by coming to listen to my teachings, you are also accepting my Karma [the spiritual principle of cause and effect governing one's destiny]."

"Since you accept my Karma, you must also understand my precepts. In the future, should you achieve any success, you must not use your power to commit evil deeds or acts that defy all morality."

"My life's purpose has been to slay demons and vanquish evil. In the future, within your capabilities, you too must protect the peace of your domains and contribute your strength to the Human Race..."

After Vast Righteousness True Lord finished speaking, the assembly promptly bowed and responded, "We understand."

Harlan Jiang [the True Lord Vast Righteousness] nodded, said no more, and directly commenced the sermon.

Eldrin Chen listened quietly, gradually becoming utterly absorbed.

The sermon by Vast Righteousness True Lord did not delve into abstruse mysteries of the Dao or ambiguous aphorisms like 'the Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.'

He was exceedingly pragmatic, speaking of simple, comprehensible, yet profoundly practical truths.

He began by speaking of the Foundation Establishment Stage [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds a stable spiritual foundation], explaining how to cultivate within this stage and how to increase one's chances of breaking through its bottlenecks.

He also explained how to enhance the possibility of advancing to the Violet Sanctum [the third major realm, where one opens a mystical palace within the dantian]. Methods like the one used by Kael Chen, who tempered his body with Subterranean Fire Fiend [a rare, potent earth-fire essence] to increase his success rate, were personally disclosed by Vast Righteousness True Lord to the assembly.

Not only that, Vast Righteousness True Lord [a powerful cultivator known for his righteous teachings] proceeded to impart seventeen distinct methods, each one capable of increasing the probability of a breakthrough into the Violet Sanctum [the third major stage of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual core within their dantian] by a small but significant margin.

After a day, he began to expound upon the cultivation techniques for the Violet Sanctum Realm, and Eldrin Chen found himself utterly captivated, listening with rapt attention as profound realizations dawned upon him.

Unconsciously, Vast Righteousness True Lord's discourse progressed to the methods for breaking through to the Golden Core [the fourth major stage, where one condenses their essence, energy, and spirit into a solid golden core]. He began to speak.

"To achieve a breakthrough into the Golden Core, one must achieve the trinity of Vital Essence, Energy, and Spirit [the three foundational treasures of a cultivator: physical vitality, spiritual energy, and spiritual consciousness]. To unify these three treasures, one must first cultivate each to a state of absolute perfection."

"'Essence' refers to the physical Vitality [the foundational life force and physical constitution]. 'Energy' refers to one's cultivated mana. 'Spirit' refers to the soul and spiritual awareness."

As Vast Righteousness True Lord continued his lecture, Eldrin Chen gradually grasped the crucial steps required for the Golden Core breakthrough.

For a cultivator to break through to the Golden Core, it is absolutely essential that their Vital Essence, Energy, and Spirit are all cultivated to the Violet Sanctum Perfection Stage [the pinnacle of the Violet Sanctum realm], as only then is there a possibility of success.

The physical body is the vessel that ferries one across the worldly sea. If the body suffers significant damage or mutilation, it becomes akin to a punctured leather ball, unable to fully contain and lock in its vital essence.

During the attempt to impact the Golden Core Realm, one must completely seal and contain the Vital Essence, Energy, and Spirit under immense pressure to condense them into the Golden Core. Therefore, if the physical body is incomplete, the hope of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm is virtually nonexistent.

While high-grade elixirs [spiritual pills] exist that can reshape and restore the physical form, the lowest rank for such miraculous medicines is Fourth Rank Superior Grade [an exceptionally high-quality pill]. Their value is so exorbitantly high that even a Golden Core Cultivator [a master of the Golden Core realm] would find the cost a crippling financial blow.

This type of elixir [a potent spiritual pill] is far too precious; many Golden Core Cultivator [cultivators who have condensed a Golden Core] seek it in vain. This is because even if a Golden Core Cultivator's physical body is destroyed, as long as their Golden Core [the solidified core of spiritual power] escapes, they can use a Precious Pill [a rare and powerful restorative elixir] to reconstruct their fleshly form.

Therefore, for a cultivator seeking to break through to the Golden Core Realm [the realm of the Golden Core], protecting one's physical body is paramount.

With a body that has reached its peak potential, one must temper it to the Great Perfection of Violet Sanctum [the ultimate stage of the Violet Sanctum realm]. Furthermore, the more abundant one's Vitality [life force essence] is, the greater the certainty of successfully Forming the Golden Core [the process of condensing the Golden Core].

The same principle applies to spiritual power [cultivation energy]. A cultivator's spiritual power must at least be cultivated to the Great Perfection of Violet Sanctum to barely qualify for attempting the Golden Core breakthrough.

Moreover, the more refined and pure the spiritual power, the higher the success rate for breaking through to Golden Core. Many Violet Sanctum Cultivator [cultivators of the Violet Sanctum realm] possess only a single Lifebound Magical Treasure [a magical artifact bonded to one's life force].

While such cultivators may progress relatively quickly, the tempering of their spiritual power is often severely lacking, making a successful breakthrough to Golden Core nearly impossible. This chapter appears courtesy of audio‑novel.com.

However, if one uses two Lifebound Magical Treasure to temper their spiritual power, it becomes significantly more refined, often increasing the odds of Forming the Golden Core by several degrees.

The 'Spirit' refers to spiritual sense [the perceptive power of the mind/soul]. Among the three treasures of Vital Essence, Energy, and Spirit [the foundational pillars of cultivation: body, energy, and spirit], the importance of spiritual sense is paramount.

Then, they heard the Vast Righteousness True Lord continue: "The Vitality of the physical body can be tempered through spiritual power and also supplemented by consuming the flesh and blood of demonic beasts. With sustained effort over years, one can ultimately cultivate it to a state of perfection."

"And if your spiritual power advances with divine speed and you wish to achieve physical perfection more rapidly, it is best to cultivate a technique specifically designed to temper the fleshly body."

Eldrin Chen [the protagonist] nodded, committing this matter firmly to memory.

During this period, his spiritual power [the energy cultivated by practitioners] had advanced with remarkable speed, yet his physical body had progressed slightly slower. He needed to address this shortcoming.

"As for spiritual power, if your cultivation base can keep pace, the best method is to refine it using multiple Lifebound Magical Treasure [enchanted artifacts bound to a cultivator's life force]. This will make your spiritual power increasingly pure and potent."

"If that condition cannot be met, then one must rely on medicinal pills. For instance, the Creation Verdant Origin Pill [a rare pill that expands a cultivator's meridians] can increase the depth and volume of one's spiritual power."

Eldrin Chen noted this down once more. The Creation Verdant Origin Pill worked by expanding the meridians [the energy channels within a cultivator's body]. After consumption, it could widen the meridians of a Violet Sanctum Cultivator [a cultivator at the Violet Sanctum stage] further, allowing them to contain an additional thirty percent of True Essence [refined spiritual energy], thereby slightly increasing the chances of a breakthrough to the Golden Core [the Golden Core stage].

However, this pill was refined using the Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom [a spiritual mushroom that takes a millennium to mature] as its primary ingredient. That mushroom was already a fourth-rank Spirit Herb [a plant imbued with spiritual energy], making the Creation Verdant Origin Pill itself a fourth-rank Precious Pill [an exceptionally valuable and potent pill].

Such a pill was exorbitantly expensive, with each one valued at five hundred thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. It was likely that most cultivators at the Violet Sanctum Late Stage [the late stage of the Violet Sanctum realm] could not afford it.

After discussing spiritual power, the Vast Righteousness True Lord [a senior cultivator] continued, "The strength of the soul essence [the spiritual core of a cultivator] is the most critical factor in forging the Golden Core."

"The purer the spiritual power, the stronger the soul essence required to command it. During the process of Forming the Golden Core [the act of condensing one's cultivation into a Golden Core], if the soul essence is not powerful enough, one cannot control the refined spiritual power and the Vitality [the life force essence]. A single misstep could lead to a violent backlash from one's own energy."

"For a cultivator to strengthen their soul essence, aside from rare moments of sudden enlightenment, the only path is to practice soul-refining techniques."

"However, refining the spirit consumes the soul's essence. Cultivating it excessively will lead to Qi Deviation [a state of cultivation backlash where energy runs amok]. You must ingest the Spirit-Nourishing Pill [a pill that restores and nourishes the cultivator's soul essence] to recover your spiritual power. Only then can you avoid the risk of permanent damage."

After speaking, he paused once more, his gaze falling upon Eldrin Chen, who seemed lost in thought.

With his profound cultivation base, he could perceive at a glance that Eldrin Chen possessed the foundational potential to forge a Superior-Tier Golden Core [the highest grade of the Golden Core cultivation stage, representing immense potential]. A flicker of intent to guide this promising junior arose within him. "The Flaming Prison Sea of Fire within the Tianlu Continent is a forbidden land of the Mortal Realm, yet it is also a supremely potent site for spirit refinement."

"If you possess a sufficient supply of Spirit-Nourishing Pill, cultivating there would likely yield twice the result for half the effort." Immerse yourself in the complete world at site: audio-novel.com.