Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

”No need, I didn’t help you for nothing.” Nodding his head in response to the respectful bow, Xuan Hao motioned for the other party to raise his head again.

”What is it senior, just say the word and I will do my best to help, it’s the least I can do after the assistance you provided.” Earning a quick response from Shen Yue’s friend who had just broken through to the Peak of the Martial Arts King Realm. Only a single step away from the Martial Arts Emperor Realm.

”Nothing much, I’m just curious about a few things and hoped that the two of you would able answer a few questions.”

”Just… Just a few questions…?” Already prepared to pay a heavy price for the help he had received that had allowed him to safely breakthrough, Shen Yue’s friend could not help freezing after hearing what was said, a confusion slowly replacing his solemn yet determined gaze.

An expression that was expected to some extent given how he had essentially just saved his life and helped increase his strength and only asked for him to answer a few questions in return.

”Yes, nothing difficult, though the questions might be related to things you might not reveal under normal circumstances.”

But… Even if he wanted to ask for something different, what could someone barely comparable to a traditional immortal cultivator at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm offer someone at the Land Creation Realm outside of the unique information he might possess on the ancient secret Realm?

”This… I will do my best to answer any questions you may have, senior.” Showing a somewhat disappointed expression on his face after making sure that Xuan Hao really did only want to ask him a few questions in return for the help he had provided, Shen Yue’s friend internally decided that no matter what he asked, he would answer the question to the best of his abilities. Even if it was something that might compromise himself and the family clan standing behind him in the process.

Not because he had any intentions of going against his own clan, but more so because he understood that the senior in front of him far exceeded his own strength and wouldn’t need to deal with him in this kind of manner if he had any hostile intentions towards him and his clan. After all, he was the strongest figure in his clan and even he didn’t stand the slightest chance against this mysterious senior, something that had only grown more obvious after his breakthrough, as the invisible pressure he released only became more prominent after he became stronger. Allowing him to sense a bit more of what was hidden.

”Great, first of all, let’s start about the body cultivation path- or the martial arts path as its called, I really want to know about your understanding of the different major realms that you know of…” Feeling a happy upon seeing how ready this friend of Shen Yue was to answer his questions, Xuan Hao didn’t hesitate in the slightest as he began what seemed more like some kind of interrogation. Starting off with the major cultivation realms for the body cultivation path, as he had a feeling this kind of senior figure might know more than what he had managed to learn from the ancient texts of the dynasty he had visited…

”… And after the Martial Arts Emperor Realm or just the Emperor Realm is the Martial Arts Saint Realm. From what I know, the Martial Arts Saint Realm is centered around the comprehension of a Dao and later infusing said Dao into the martial soul. Growing the martial soul and strengthening it in the process before going through the Seven Saints Tribulation.

It is also said that one manifests a unique ability upon reaching the realm related to the dao infused into the martial soul, but information on the Martial Arts Realm is scarce and difficult to find after the fall of the heavenly gates. Compared to spiritual qi cultivation or the traditional path of immortal cultivation as many ancient texts refers to it as, it should be comparable to the Domain Lord Realm in the earlier stages and later comparable to the Soul Ascension Realm upon beginning the Seven Saints Tribulation.”

And as he listened to Shen Yue’s friend give a detailed explanation that deepened his understanding of the previous major realms of the body cultivation path, he was also surprised to also learn more about the Martial Arts Saint Realm.

But more than just surprised, he was somewhat shocked that the Martial Arts Saint Realm fit both the Domain Lord Realm and Soul Ascension Realm into one major realm.

Then again… The Domain Lord Realm and the Soul Ascension Realm were only divided and viewed as different major realms because of the first tribulation one had to undergo upon reaching the Soul Ascension Realm being seen as similar to prior tribulations that divided major realms, when, in fact, the tribulation wasn’t considered complete before one stepped into the Dao Seed Realm and-

”Ah! I almost forgot, I think I also heard about the realm that came after the Martial Arts Saint Realm, but its mostly rumours I heard from others who explored some of the more deadly ruins left behind from the era before the fall of the heavenly gates.

According to the rumours, the realm beyond the Martial Arts Saint Realm should be called the World Bearing Saint Realm, though when it comes to its strength compared to the spiritual qi cultivation path, I’m not too knowledgeable, as I only know about the Dao Seed Realm that comes after the Soul Ascension Realm.”

Not giving him a chance to finish his train of thought, Shen Yue’s friend continued and directly revealed the existence of another major realm beyond the Martial Arts saint Realm, the World Bearing Saint Realm, a realm that he hadn’t heard about before, but the name alone reminded him of the fact that he was currently in the process of building an internal world himself.

Meaning that there was a good chance that the World Bearing Saint Realm wasn’t just the Dao Seed Realm equivalent of the body refining realm but might very well be a Profound Immortal Realm equivalent.

But that begs the question, how in the world would a Martial Arts Saint make that kind of terrifying leap from the Martial Arts Saint Realm to the World Bearing Saint Realm… Or perhaps a Martial Arts Saint was far stronger than knowledge he and the local in front of him had the opportunity to get their hands on.

In other words, a single major realm that was equivalent to three major realms in traditional immortal cultivation, a possibility that made him increasingly curious about the Martial Arts Saint Realm, as the little information that Shen Yue’s friend had was hardly enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Unfortunately, information on the Martial Arts Saint Realm wasn’t exactly easy to find and the two didn’t know any more about the realm.

”Next up, I wanted to ask about different ancient ruins and if you know of any especially dangerous locations…” Because of this, Xuan Hao soon enough shifted his attention away from questions that might help him complete the side quest, as that had been his original goal with the question.

In the process, he soon enough managed to learn more about the two places he intended to visit next. Learning that the Mountain Hall wasn’t exactly a location he would gain much from exploring, as the place was home to an old cultivation clan that had been established following the fall of the heavenly gates and was in a process of slow decline. The ruins that existed there all belonged to this clan. So, there wasn’t much purpose in him visiting the place.

Next was the Giant’s Valley, that by far sounded the most interesting among the four locations, as it was rumoured to have the shape of a giant footprint. Legend, saying it had been left behind by an ancient giant in the past or some kind of terrifying divine power.

From the two, he learnt that these rumours weren’t unfounded, as some records they had encountered suggested that it had been left behind in the past by a terrifying entity invading the world.

The footprint that formed the valley being the only trace this being had been able to leave behind, as the second following the descend of this giant being, it had been repelled by one of the powerful beings that had guarded the world.

And hearing this, Xuan Hao almost instantly felt like he found out where to go next, as even if he didn’t end up finding what he was looking for in the Giant’s Valley, he would at least be able to get a better idea about the beings that had invaded this ancient secret realm in the past.

After all, though he guessed and was almost certain these invaders were related to the Dao of Corruption, he ultimately hadn’t been able to confirm this himself.