Chapter Thirty-Eight: Cultivation, Consolidation of the Realm of True Cultivation (Part One)

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At the request of Starry Sky, today is the fifth update from Mute. To be honest, this was meant to be part of my draft stock, but Starry Sky's urging has disrupted my update plan. Still, a promise is a promise—if I ever ascend in the future, you must congratulate me!

Let us leave aside Uncle Li and Xiu Yuan discussing matters at “The Mansion Cuisine” and turn to Mute, who had just returned home. Noticing the three ladies had yet to come back—most likely out shopping together, as is the way of women in every dimension—he shrugged, opened the Dimensional System, and attempted to contact Carefree Master.

This time, fortune smiled upon him; Carefree Master replied instantly and pulled Mute into his dimension. The moment of dimensional travel always brought a sense of haze and confusion. When Mute regained his senses, he found himself amid mountain ranges, a gentle breeze caressing his face, birdsong and the fragrance of flowers in the air, streams and lush greenery all around—so similar to the landscape within Carefree Master’s treasured Nation Map.

He greedily inhaled the untainted, fresh air, the pure scent seeping deep into his lungs, making him feel utterly refreshed.

Carefree Master, still dressed in his signature blue robes, smiled, “Isn’t the scenery before you awfully familiar? My Nation Map is a perfect replica of this very place. This is Green Peak Mountain, where I usually train.”

Mute hurried forward to offer his respects. Carefree Master waved him off, “No need for such ceremony. We are not ordinary folk—the respect between master and disciple is best kept in our hearts.” Then he added, “I’ve been in seclusion, consolidating my cultivation ever since my return. I only awoke in the past two days and was just about to seek you out, but you contacted me first. Is there something you need?”

Mute quickly recounted the discovery of the mythical artifact fragment, sketching out the characters from memory.

Carefree Master chuckled, “Who would have thought those characters had such fascinating legends? Frankly, calling them immortal script isn’t far from the truth. They are cultivation runes; all items crafted by cultivators bear such inscriptions. Only with these rune arrays do artifacts gain their powers.”

Mute immediately understood; it was much like modern electronics, where different components, when assembled into unique circuits, create different devices—a television, a radio, and so forth. Similarly, cultivators needed to carve these runes onto their creations to grant them special properties. What puzzled him, however, was how an artifact with such runes could end up in the base material plane.

“What’s so hard to understand?” Carefree Master explained, “As far as I know, all carbon-based life dimensions evolved from the base material plane. It’s not odd for remnants of cultivation to be found in your world. What surprises me is that you called it a mythical artifact fragment. From what I recall, mythical artifacts are all S-class or higher—they should only be usable by immortals, a realm above all others.”

“Immortals?” Mute suddenly remembered Lu Daoxuan’s theory and asked, “Are there truly immortals in this world?”

The question made Carefree Master grow silent. After a pause, he replied, “There are immortals. At least, our sect once had an elder ascend to immortality.”

“Oh? Then how many have succeeded?” Mute’s eyes shone. Did this mean he, too, could hope for such a fate?

Carefree Master rapped him on the head, exasperated, “How many, you ask? What a question! Our sect is considered one of the top in the cultivation world, yet only one elder has ever ascended. As for smaller sects, having someone reach the Nascent Soul stage is already a great achievement.”

Mute stuck out his tongue, thinking to himself: in the novels he’d read, Nascent Soul cultivators were as common as dogs, and immortals strolled the streets. But here, even a Nascent Soul expert was a rare master.

“Ascending to immortality is defying the heavens themselves. One must undergo nine heavenly tribulations. With each tribulation survived, your cultivation soars, but each trial is more terrifying than the last. Many high-level cultivators dare not act rashly for fear of triggering the next calamity,” Carefree Master said gravely. “Within our sect’s Exquisite Pagoda dwells a master who has survived seven tribulations. Now, he scarcely steps outside the pagoda. Do you know why?”

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Mute, when asked, replied aggrieved, “Master, you know that although I possess liquefied true essence, you forced it into me. I’m nearly a complete novice at cultivation!”

Carefree Master snorted, “Are you blaming me for not teaching you the true arts?”

Mute hastily shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare!”

Carefree Master continued, “That master’s power far exceeds what this world can contain; even the slightest fluctuation in his aura would attract a heavenly tribulation. And he isn’t confident he can survive the eighth tribulation, so he remains in the Exquisite Pagoda, suppressing his presence.”

Mute clicked his tongue in awe, sighing, “Isn’t that pitiful? To reach such heights of cultivation, only to be imprisoned if you can’t ascend?”

“Not necessarily!” Carefree Master replied, “If he attains the realm of unity with heaven and man, he’ll be able to roam freely. Besides, the Exquisite Pagoda is a world unto itself. Disciples who reach a certain level may enter to seek his guidance. It’s hardly a prison.”

“Unity with heaven and man!” This was the first time Mute had heard the term, completely at a loss. Carefree Master explained, “Though you’re still far from such a realm, it’s good to know early. As the name suggests, it means merging oneself entirely with nature—becoming one with the world, so that every blade of grass and leaf is part of your own body. In such a state, heavenly tribulations lose their target.”

Listening to Carefree Master’s explanation, Mute finally gained a preliminary understanding of the path of cultivation. Noticing his disciple’s hunger for knowledge, Carefree Master took the opportunity to give him a detailed lesson, which left Mute enraptured.

“Well, last time I left in haste. Though I reforged your body and gave you liquefied true essence, I never properly taught you cultivation. Now that you’re here, you should stay awhile. This place is rich in spiritual energy—a perfect site for training!” As he spoke, he produced a pearl out of thin air. “Within this jade bead is the ‘Jade Purity Art’ I cultivated. Legend claims it was passed down by the Sage of Primordial Chaos, and the Dimensional System rates it as an S-class cultivation method. Start from the beginning.”

Mute was overjoyed. He accepted the bead and, using the technique Carefree Master taught him, immersed his mind within. Instantly, he found himself in a milky-white space, golden words floating before him. However, he could only see the first three levels of the technique.

Carefree Master’s voice echoed, “The benefit of this bead is that it reveals only the techniques appropriate for your current cultivation. Progress in cultivation must be step by step; attempt advanced methods prematurely and you risk losing all your power—or worse, perishing and being cast into reincarnation.”

Mute examined the bead’s contents and asked, surprised, “Are those ‘tadpole characters’ inside too? What do they mean?”

Carefree Master replied, “Those are the runes that must be inscribed when forging artifacts. As for their meaning, no one in the cultivation world truly knows. They’ve simply been used that way since time immemorial.”

Mute wondered, “If no one understands them, how can they be used?”

Carefree Master answered lightly, “I’ve heard that in the base material plane, there’s a thing called a computer. You know how to use one, don’t you?”

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“Of course I do!”

“Can you manufacture its inner components?”

Mute was speechless.

“That’s exactly it. Knowing how to use something doesn’t mean you understand its inner workings. According to ancient lore, these runes were created by sages to channel the forces of heaven and earth, granting cultivators’ artifacts their unique powers.”

Mute thought this made sense. So, under Carefree Master’s guidance, he began training in the Jade Purity Art atop Green Peak Mountain.

After he had fully mastered the first three levels and opened his eyes, he heard Carefree Master say, “Not bad—not bad at all. Though you had the foundation of liquefied true essence, reaching the third level in just over ten days is no small feat. That said, it’s only because of this foundation that you progressed so quickly at first. Each subsequent level will take years, if not decades, to achieve. Prepare yourself.”

Mute exclaimed, “What? It’s been more than ten days? I hardly noticed!”

“That’s cultivation for you,” Carefree Master said mildly. “It’s common for cultivators to spend months or years in seclusion. All you did was review the basics for ten-odd days. After I formed my Nascent Soul from my shattered core, I still spent over a month consolidating my realm. Compared to that, what’s a handful of days?”

Mute clicked his tongue in amazement. For an ordinary cultivator, long periods in seclusion were nothing, but as a dimensional agent, he worried such absences might interfere with his missions.

“But you needn’t worry,” Carefree Master reassured him. “To enter such a state of timeless cultivation is rare. Only those with great fortune achieve this ‘entry to the realm’—many hot-tempered souls never experience it in their lives, making further advancement nearly impossible.”

Mute’s eyes sparkled with cunning, “Master, don’t you have the Nation Map? If you enter it during seclusion, wouldn’t that solve the problem? You could spend all the time you need inside without it affecting the outside world!”

Carefree Master glared at him, “You sly one, always scheming. That method works only during breakthroughs. Ordinary cultivation requires absorbing the world’s energy, which isn’t possible in the Nation Map. Last time, for your sake, I forced a breakthrough inside, exhausting centuries’ worth of accumulated energy. Now it’s almost a useless relic, and you still have the nerve to mention it.”

Mute chuckled sheepishly, “Back then, we barely knew each other. Sorry!”

Carefree Master let it go, “Enough. Now that you’ve grasped the first three levels of the Jade Purity Art and your flying sword is well-nurtured, I want to see if you’ve truly mastered the path of cultivation!”