Strength Training: In the initial stage of Body Tempering Cultivation, practitioners focus on enhancing physical strength through targeted exercises while channeling energy through visualization techniques. Strength training exercises, such as resistance training and bodyweight exercises, are performed to stimulate muscle fibers and promote utilization of energy.
Basically, the purpose of this step was to grind up one’s body. While I had gotten caught up with the nexus crystal’s main floor, there was a floor beneath the main chamber with workout equipment. The cultivators of the Great World went there to get their gains.
I considered if there was anything useful I could gain from this, but this first step was to get their bodies used to energy. Kids born from cultivator parents, were often born near the nexus crystal in the hopes the kid would be a natural talent. I had already seen two such births during the last year while I worked on my arrays and formations.
Flesh Strengthening: The next step involves strengthening the flesh, which encompasses enhancing overall muscle tone, elasticity, and endurance. Through the manipulation of energy flow within the body, practitioners facilitate the repair and regeneration of muscle tissues, promoting muscle growth and resilience.
The second step was just a continuation of the first to make sure a cultivator didn’t rip their body apart. Once they could sense energy, they moved onto using that energy to strengthen parts of their body other than their muscles. Muscles and their connective tissues, had the least amount of risk in comparison to other body organs.
If a person screwed up on their heart, they were probably dead. If they screwed up on the muscles controlling their little toe on their off foot, injured but not dead. Each of these stages were accompanied by detailed medical diagrams and explanations.
Fu Shirong informed me that apprentice cultivators were taken to regular body dissections where various elders would take turns opening up a corpse and pointing out all the organs and other internal parts. This was knowledge I had learned long ago. I did check what the Flame Sect knew to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but besides the larger eyes and translucent skin, there were no other major differences between the people of the Great World and myself.
Organ Vitality Enhancement: In this step, attention is directed towards nurturing and revitalizing the internal organs through energy cultivation practices. By harnessing the power of visualization, breathwork, and meditation, practitioners focus on restoring balance and harmony to the organ systems, promoting optimal function and resilience. This may involve techniques aimed at improving circulation, detoxification, and energetic alignment within the body.
This was the step where cultivators took a major step, going organ by organ. Other sects might have slightly different orders, but the Flame Sect believed that once a cultivator could draw in and manipulate energy to alter their bodies, improving their organs was a must.
The improvement of their organs would allow them to live longer and be the basis for all future improvements. Many cultivators of the Great World took their time on this step to lay the best possible foundation before moving forward.
The improvement of organs was incredibly interesting. While the process happened naturally for myself due to increasing amounts of energy in one’s body, this was a targeted improvement. While I was in the Flame Sect, I took breaks from my arrays and formations, to use the meditation techniques, and my own sense to slowly look at each of my bodily organs with my energy.
One by one, I looked over my bodily organs. Most of the suggested improvements had naturally occurred over time, through the natural infusion of energy into my body. But there were some improvements that were suggested in order to improve one’s body.
The biggest changes were with the lungs and cardiovascular system to improve one’s ability to take in oxygen and blood flow throughout the body. I started off with my small toe on my left foot, making targeted changes to the blood distribution there, before moving onto the rest of my body very slowly.
Bone Fortification: Bone health and density are prioritized in this stage, with a focus on fortifying skeletal structure through energy infusion techniques. Practitioners engage in weight-bearing exercises, such as weightlifting or resistance training, to stimulate bone remodeling and density.
The fourth step was about increasing the strength and flexibility of one’s bones so they wouldn’t be ripped apart when greater changes were made to a cultivator’s muscles in the fifth step of muscle conditioning.
There was nothing I could do in regards to this stage due to my body already being improved to a far greater degree. There were no obvious changes that I could detect with my introspection. My body had already improved to a great degree, by becoming more due the effects of energy.
My subconscious was acting on the energy of my body to make me more real. This was the innate resistance and power that cultivators developed over time. This often came down to the amount of energy one might have at their disposal. But the targeted changes would speed up the process of integrating energy into one’s body.
Muscle Conditioning: Muscle conditioning is further refined in this step through the integration of energy-based practices. Practitioners employ dynamic movement exercises, such as martial arts forms or dynamic stretching routines, to enhance muscular coordination, agility, and flexibility.
This was the step that granted these cultivators greater increased strength. It was seen as the step where they would become useful in combat once they had completed it. Like most of the other improvements, I was far beyond this one as well.
I had been hoping for more improvements, but energy had taken care of a lot of things on its own. It made me, more me. I envisioned myself healthy and capable, so energy made that possible. Instead of using my muscles increasing my strength, it was exercising my will to use energy within my body to exert force.
The best thing about these instructions was the specific way they addressed the minute flow of energy and the mental models cultivators should use. While it wasn’t a huge improvement on what I was capable of, there was a definite improvement in terms of energy efficiency.
Mind Mastery: Mental training becomes increasingly important in this step as practitioners focus on cultivating mindfulness, concentration, and emotional resilience. Through meditation, visualization, and mindfulness practices, individuals learn to harness the power of their mind to influence temporal flow and promote holistic well-being. This mental mastery enhances focus, clarity, and intentionality in all aspects of Body Tempering Cultivation, facilitating deeper integration of mind and body.
The sixth step was quite interesting since it focused on the mind specifically. Once again, the improvements that my body had undergone, were far greater than this step of cultivation. Even the descriptions did not help much.
It focused more on the physical side of changes to the body. These cultivators would have enhanced senses and perception compared to mortals, but compared to me it was nothing. There was only so much you could speed up your brain without breaking something. That was why energy was so important.
These type of improvements couldn’t help me right now. If it was long ago when I was kid, they could have done quite a bit. I would have been better off spending a decade or two to grow up and pursue this type of cultivation. Unfortunately, it had not occurred to me or anyone else.
There were more targeted changes listed as well to adjust one’s eyes to perceive different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and to more radically change one’s senses. Supposedly there were animal sects that focused on imitating various animals to alter their bodies and gain an advantage. The Flame Sect was a purist sect, electing to avoid the more radical alterations.
Marrow Enrichment: The final stage involves enriching the marrow, which plays a vital role in blood cell production and immune function, through energy harmonization practices between energy and the body.
This last step was the big one to reach the next stage for these cultivators. The goal was to take in enough energy to allow the bone marrow to produce minute amounts of energy inside their body. It was shocking to read through this part of their cultivation manuals.
The amount was like a drop of energy compared to what I drew in, but it allowed these cultivators to pursue the later stages of cultivation. This was something that I needed to consider closely. I had spoken with various Elders of the Flame Sect, but it came down to understanding after a long time mediating and focus.
That was why it was a very hard step for younger cultivators. While the other steps could use cadavers as visual models, this step required them to ignite their bone marrow. I scanned several cultivators with my energy and their permission, and there clearly was something happening. I knew it was possible to create energy from energy. But in reality it was impossibly difficult. The amounts were so small, that it wasn’t even worth considering.
It was also a process that didn’t happen naturally. I knew enough about my system of cultivation to know this fact. It was the secret advantage that Great World Cultivation had over Heavenly Alliance Cultivation. These cultivators turned their physical bodies in energy generators in order to empower themselves and perform techniques.
The various techniques, weren’t even worth considering. I could do the same by just moving about and controlling energy. While I did have to ration, the improvement from learning specific ways to use energy was barely anything. It wasn’t worth my time or the hassle.
The next stage of Foundation Establishment was about pushing the bodily improvements to the very limits once a cultivator had mastered them all. Refining their body to build up their foundation to the greatest extent possible.
The third stage was Core Formation. The idea being to create a core of energy a cultivator would maintain and keep in reserve at all times, to build up their energy. Once their control and energy were enough, they would set the boundary as their body, forming a Nascent Soul, which was the fourth stage.
This was where most cultivators were stuck in the Great World. They were already saturating their bodies with quite a bit of energy, the idea being to breakthrough to the Soul Enlightenment Realm, which had been my starting point in my cultivation journey.
“Senior Yuan Zhou, you have asked us to assemble for you have learned many things regarding the barrier between the Nascent Soul Stage and the Soul Enlightenment Realm?” Sect Leader Flame asked me. He was gathered with his Vice Leaders and Elders in their main meeting room.
I had asked for this meeting so I wouldn’t have to explain things multiple times. Better to handle all their questions right away. “I have come to some conclusions in regards to your system of cultivation. Since it is one of the things I have taken an interest in while being a guest of your Flame Sect, I have decided to share my conclusions with all of you.”
I had never seen a group of cultivators as attentive as these men and women. They were practically frothing at the mouth for this knowledge. I decided to not keep them in suspense any longer.
“The problem of breaking through for all of you is twofold. The first problem is the ambient energy. Even inside the cave with the nexus crystal, the ambient energy is not enough. While the cavern is half that of the Mechanical Layer, this layer is a tenth of that of the Firmament. You would need twenty times the energy density.” There were looks of despair at this.
“Which brings up the second problem. Your control is too good. Your grasp on energy is very strong. But it is that grasp that makes the process of developing a soul incredibly difficult. I would guess that one would need to loosen their grip on their energy, in a high energy environment. Either one’s accumulation will collapse, but if there is enough external pressure, then a cultivator will naturally develop a soul and be able to continue their cultivation.”
This was also the explanation of why everyone could cultivate on the continent I grew up on. The external pressure of energy was enough that it pressed down on everyone. People naturally generated energy which countered this pressure, thereby developing a soul.
That was why the last step was called Nascent Soul. They had a kind of soul, but their grip was too tight to allow one to form. Even if that grip was loosened, then there would be problem due to the lack of external pressure, forcing their body to adapt at a subconscious level. This wasn’t something you could train.
“Would you be able to create such a place with your formation?” Sect Leader Flame asked.
“Something like that was easily done. But I just wasn’t that sure about your cultivation system.” I pulled out a metal array plate and set it on the table. “Three arrays, ringed to draw in energy and hold it inside a bubble over this plate. Building a small metal shelter inside the cavern with more arrays on each wall of the box would help better contain the energy.”
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I took a deep breath before continuing. “The biggest problem is that these arrays aren’t protected from the suppression and draining that covers the Great World. My counter cube is still taking time with how intricate it needs to be. I also make no promises or guarantees, that this will allow anyone to break through, it is my most educated guess.”
“Letting go of the energy within us, would be the end of our cultivation journey if we don’t advance,” Sect Leader Flame said, and I nodded at this.
“Well you can experiment with the plate, and if you want a box I am happy to help,” I replied.
“What about covering the cavern with these arrays. Energy is leaking out, which is the biggest problem. If we can cover the entire chamber in these plates we can increase the amount of energy,” Vice Leader Tan suggested.
“There are two issues with that approach. The first is volume. That much volume will be difficult to increase the energy density. These plates are drawing energy from their surroundings into the area where they are present. Setting this up will decrease the ambient amount of energy elsewhere in the nexus. The second issue is the small amount of energy these arrays consume. While they don’t consume much energy, this is a low energy environment. You cover the cavern the arrays will suck out the energy that is there just to run,” I replied.
“How is your counter cube coming along?” Sect Leader Flame asked.
“Slowly. Very slowly, unfortunately. To keep the size to a reasonable level, the etchings onto the plates have to be very small and I need to make sure they all line up in three dimensions. While I have worked out the formation the nexus crystal is using for the most part, it is incredibly complex. Replicating such a feat, is not simple. I am no master who can instantly redesign the formation. I need to put it togeather, and work out how everything works togeather.”
“How can you not understand it, if you are building it?” Vice Leader Tan asked. I let out a sigh at that question.
“I am copying large portions of the nexus crystal after confirming various portions work. The problem is, the various parts of the crystal link up. Like the brain, it is one brain, but various parts of the brain handle different functions, yet it all works togeather. I can work out the individual functions and confirm their general purpose, but the interconnectivity is where the formation comes togeather.” I paused to think about if I should continue and I decided there was no point not to.
“Whatever is suppressing and draining energy, is targeting a very wide spectrum. How to put this, energy is psychoactive and psychoreactive. One can adjust arrays to alter the energy that is being used to give it different characteristics. If you have an array that is meant to create an elemental effect, you can switch between fire and lighting. There are many types of energy out there. I have experimented with a range hoping that I could find a loophole, but that isn’t the case.” Looking about everyone was paying close attention.
“The nexus crystal formation works by occluding the area. As energy naturally forms, some of it interacts with the nexus crystal, turning it into energy that is altered in a way that creates this occluding effect from the Great World’s formation. This energy spreads out over an area which allows more energy to generate, and you have a nexus to cultivate at,” I explained. This was the culmination of my research.
One of the reasons I was sharing everything was that the natives might have some insight that I had overlooked. “That is why it takes time for an area to fill up and why multiple crystals don’t add anything. One crystal would already be occluding the area. The second one won’t help that much. I guess you could spread them out over a larger area, but I suspect that the greater the area, the less effective the occlusion.”
After I finished my explanation all these cultivators had looks of deep contemplation on their faces. Or they all ate something that disagreed with their digestion and were trying not to embarrass themselves. It was hard to say for sure.
“We need a way to increase our amount of energy,” Sect Leader Flame said, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Something you care to share?”
“It is just comforting to know that no matter how different our cultivator cultures and systems, some things remain the same. There is always a demand for more energy,” I replied.
“Even with your claims of lots of free-floating energy?” Vice Leader Tan said.
“The amount of energy you need goes up massively with each stage of cultivation. While I took a harder path than many others, getting past my first bottleneck was incredibly difficult. Still, I should be done with my counter cube in the next half year or so. Once it is operational, I should be able to work out many questions to iterate on the design. The end goal being a way to carry a portable device to allow energy to be present,” I replied.
“We will need to mediate on the option you have created for us Senior Cultivator Yuan Zhou. You have my personal thanks and the thanks of the Flame Sect,” Sect Leader Flame stood up and bowed slightly towards me. The rest of the Elders and Vice Leaders did the same as well.
I inclined my head back. “It is the least I could do, to thank you for your patience with my presence and hospitality,” I replied. After that I left the meeting room to allow them to discuss all the information I had just dropped on them.
If those old people wanted to advance, it would be harder for other people to use the nexus to cultivate. There would be a drop in the number of cultivators the Flame Sect would be able to support. There was always a lack of energy. For a resource that had no limit, it was frustrating how hard it was to get in large quantities to make progress in cultivation.
At least I could breathe much easier, and my heartbeat slower from the less work it had to do. Making the changes to my body was simple enough with all the energy I had combined with the diagrams and cadavers the Flame Sect had on hand. The changes happened over a period of time to make sure there were no mistakes and were still ongoing. But I was already feeling the benefits.
As for other benefits, I had gained quite a bit of information. I would keep working here in the Flame Sect until I could make no more progress, or at least progress at a reasonable pace. I suspected that I had at most two iterations on the counter cube and then I would not be able to make any more progress. Probably one iteration, but I wanted to push things a bit in future designs, especially the size.
A giant metal cube was not something I could bring with me. Perhaps I should have studied more on the theoretical aspects of arrays and formations, but it was too late now. I had to figure out what I could with the limited knowledge I had. I really wished I had some kind of automation instead of having to do everything my hand. Even the metal plates took time to make in the sect.
Sure, I could get metal, but actually making large flat metal plates took a lot of effort. As for the size I needed, it was a huge undertaking. The amount of metal going into the sect would increase their coffers for at least a thousand years. There was no automation, golems, or any kind of industrial base. I used to look down on the floors of the towers in the Forever City devoted to production, but it was the problem of having too much.
Yang Heng would probably just have an almost smug smile at that. Sure, it sucked if you had to make stuff, but at least you could get stuff in the Forever City. There were merchants, even if they were zombies most of the time, there were people one could buy stuff from. It was all horribly overpriced, but when you were stuck in a situation like this and no manufacturing base, an appreciation began to build for what was.
As I ate dinner brought up by a servant to my private balcony, Fu Shirong showed up. “Done with cultivation for today?” I asked him.
“Yes. It is incredibly boring,” he replied.
“Yes, boring,” I replied with an eye roll. Live in a completely dark chamber for decades on end then come talk to me about boring. I had melt my mind breaking during those long years of cultivation. And the waste bucket, couldn’t forget the waste bucket. Here Fu Shirong could cultivate and then come up to our shared apartment to rest.
“You are insulting me, since you have cultivated for longer stretches,” he replied with a sigh.
“Indeed. How far are you? Organs?” I asked.
“Yes. It is one of the most important steps, unless you have another suggestion?” he asked.
“I would cultivate as much as possible if you have nothing urgent to do. Cultivation is a race against time itself to reach immortality before you die. Even for me, time does not wait,” I explained.
“And you are messing around with metal?” he asked. I gave him a glare. “Joking, joking. Just that every free job is in the forge, making metal plates. The joke is you hammer out weaknesses in your body as you hammer out the metal.”
“No issues with the other apprentices?” I asked.
“A bit at the start but nothing concerning. Once I improve my cultivation a bit more, then there is mandatory sparring. Until then I am the personal disciple of a visiting Elder, which means I am off limits,” he replied.
“Visiting Elder? Not an Esteemed Senior Ancestor?” I asked.
“They don’t have titles for how high up you are Senior Yuan Zhou. It is honestly a bit ridiculous, how far ahead your cultivation is compared to everyone else,” he replied.
“Well, it was all hard work, suffering, and demonic cultivators. Those are the worst,” I explained.
“That is an urban myth about cultivators that hunt others to eat their flesh and organs in order to progress their own cultivation,” he said.
“I have no doubt they are real. I was almost put into a pot by a demonic cultivator as a child and then they chased me for a while. I even infiltrated a demonic Sect,” I boasted. Fu Shirong gave me a look, as if he wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth or not.
“It is the truth. My first sect was destroyed by the Demonic Blood Sect. I was in long term cultivation at the time and got chased. I annoyed the Demonic Sect Leader Aoyin. I wonder how he is doing right now? If I ever return to my home, I will have to pay him a visit,” I said.
“Now that I can believe. You annoying someone enough that they want to kill you,” Fu Shirong said.
“Eat your dinner and then keep cultivating and studying. If you plan to follow me, I will only be here another two years most likely,” I said.
“That short?” Fu Shirong asked.
“That is about how long I will be able to make progress unless there is a major breakthrough. It is just a guess, so it could be different,” I answered. There were a lot of factors that could change how long I was working on coming up with a counter to the suppression of the Great World.
I didn’t like being stuck here this long, but I wouldn’t get a better chance to come up with a counter to the suppression of the Great World than right here. If I wanted to turn around and head back to the Edge, this was the place as well. Going any further, meant I might as well go all the way to the Great Desert before turning around.
With the metal I had, I could easily purchase a ship. The Flame Sect would be more than happy to change metal bars into currency. I could stock up a chest and buy the fastest ship possible along with a crew. I should probably make arrangements now regardless. A small ship that could hold a handful of people with a cabin for myself. Not meant for trade but speedy travel.
That way I could travel in style going forward. If I put in the order now, it could be kept out of the water until I had need of it. The Flame Sect would be happy to make the arrangements for something so trivial and would know who to speak to as well.
The nice thing about having friends and connections was being able to come up with an idea and just throw money at the problem. I didn’t need to track down the best ship builder, I could just pay to have it all handled, since my time was valuable.
I also didn’t know if Fu Shirong would actually follow me. He is attitude wasn’t that great to be a cultivator, but he had an unprecedented chance by grabbing onto my coattails. It was up to him not to waste it. You could not force someone to cultivate. If they didn’t have the motivation, endurance, or temperament, it was better they pursue another direction in their life. It would only become more of a struggle later on.
One had to be good at both cultivating and advancing their cultivation by any means necessary. One could get away with the first part for only so long, depending on their background. Yang Heng was a clear example of someone who had a much easier path in life compared to others. Struggling and overcoming obstacles in one’s path was another key part of cultivation. I still had not given up.
It would be all too easy to just stop and become an Emperor, waited on hand and foot in comfort for the rest of my life. To give up on the dream of immortality. But that would be a much greater death, than actually dying. My spirit, my drive, my passion would be erased if I stopped progressing. It would be spitting on the hopes and dreams of the people who believed in me and sacrificed to help me get this far.
Every step of the way was a massive hurdle I needed to overcome. I managed to get off the continent to progress my cultivation with more resources. I then managed to breakthrough in the Forever City. Now when I was trapped in the Great World, I was going to overcome this challenge as well. While some people might say it is the journey, not the destination, they have never been cultivators. Only the promise of immortality kept me going.
All those people who had given up were failures, who didn’t have the temperament to keep pushing against fate. All too often cultivators wanted to treat cultivation like a job. It couldn’t just be a job. That might work for cultivators who were lucky like Yang Heng, but for everyone else it just wouldn’t do. It had to be a passion project.
Going back to carve more highly detailed arrays into giant metal plates, was tedious, time consuming, and not something I enjoyed. While I was willing to learn and put in the time, this kind of work was frustrating. But the reason I stuck it out was that it was needed to keep going on my path to cultivation. One could always give up, and far too many did.
The cultivators in the Forever City had mentally clocked out for the most part. Even Yang Heng could not disagree with that, since the Forever City was both an opportunity and a trap for cultivators. Now that I was stranded with no way to return, I felt a sense of freedom and ambition that had long been dormant. Now that I was making progress in a short period of time and there were possibilities, I was much more engaged.
Traveling about with Yang Heng was another blessing and a curse. A blessing since he kept me alive, and a curse, since there was no chance to find something useful that might help me advance. While he looked down on technology, technology was saving me right now. I didn’t even want to think about carving these plates in anything other than metal. If I had to go around and gather it up, the cost would have been ruinous.
I might as well just hunt leviathans and sell their corpses if I had to raise funds without any sort of equipment. Each plate took around forty bars worth of metal, which was about fourteen leviathans. On top of that I needed multiple metal plates so I could stack them togeather. If I had to kill such creatures on such a scale, I would run out of energy far too quickly. I would also deplete the supply of such creatures as well and upset the market.
It was a shame there were no land bound creatures, but I had a strong suspicion about the leviathans. On the surface the nexus crystals would be at various points, some underground. But what if they were also in the water. At the locations where the leviathans made their nests.
The ambient energy would give a boost to the creatures. What would have been a large eel, became a ship destroying monster of the ocean. A creature would want to get bigger and stronger, hence you would get the leviathans. I even suspected there might be some super leviathans hidden away, nesting around these nexus points. They would slowly build up and accumulate strength.
No one had ever claimed to have seen one, and there were no records, but I had a gut feeling about there being super leviathans. Well with the naming convention of the Great World they would be great leviathans instead.
I could go underwater with my mask to look for a leviathan next. I had done an underwater journey before to get the green ocean lily from a beast garden. I could do it again. I did have a suit I could wear and a mask. Also, my cultivation was much higher than before, so I should be able to handle myself.
If my progress in the Flame Sect came to a halt it was something I would have to consider moving forward. It was nice to have so many options for once, instead of just randomly stumbling about hoping to come across something useful that might help me.
While it was highly unlikely, I was hoping to be able to tap into the energy of the Great World. All that energy had to be going somewhere. While it might just be used to maintain all of this, no one would build all of this without having a way to stockpile energy for an emergency. If I could find a way to tap into that, then I would be set.
That was another reason I was taking my time in the Flame Sect. If I got to the Great Desert and found something, I wanted to be prepared if possible. That way I wouldn’t have to waste time in a difficult and hostile environment.