Chương 389: Elder's lecture

"Six months…" Long Feng murmured, sighing as his chances hit rock bottom. To somehow attain the combat power of a refined mid stage deity at least within six months? It might be possible, but that level of strength wouldn't prove significant compared to the other geniuses at all. In all honesty, he would need the strength of a refined late stage deity to really stand a chance. The deacons said a few more things regarding different topics before dispersing the gathering and exiting.

Long Feng was deep in thought as he followed Cheng Zhi down the mountain towards their caves with many things running through his mind. First of all, how strong was Cheng Zhi exactly? Only today did Long hair realized how much he underestimated the latter's strength. Apparently, he could go toe to toe against the current Head disciple, leaving Long Feng breathless. The head disciple was a three refined peak deity! His strength was something Long Feng couldn't comprehend just yet.

Cheng Zhi had to at least be a peak deity at the same level. But he didn't seem interested in that conversation, so Long Feng didn't ask about it. Secondly, the inner elder's lecture in three days. Long Feng absolutely couldn't miss it for anything. And the most important thing was naturally the supreme heaven mystic realm. He pondered deeply, trying to think of a method to increase his strength without backlash or hidden flaws, but there was none to think of.

The deity realm itself was a realm that focused on extreme stability, because it was the building block to shedding one's mortality. A single flaw could ruin everything. That was the purpose of the refinement stages, to ground the foundation to a seamless level and erase as much flaws as possible. There simply was no way to speed through the deity realm without disrupting the foundation.

"Even if I reach the peak Imperial realm, my combat power will only compare to a refined early stage deity at most. There's no way to go higher than that." The difference between each stage in the deity realm was equivalent to half of the entire Imperial realm. Long Feng's combat power would only reach the mid stage deity realm once he became a deity himself.

"If I cultivate normally, I can reach rank nine Imperial realm within three or four months at most. To become a deity could take up the remaining two months, maybe even more. And even if I become a deity, my power won't even reach the refined mid stage deity realm. I'll be stronger than a refined early stage but beneath a mid stage. That's absolutely nothing in this place." No matter how he pushed his mind, he couldn't think of a solution.

There was a ninety percent chance that he would have to give up on the mystic realm entirely.

"Ah." He gave up thinking about it with a sigh.

"Whatever. If I'm destined to enter it, then I will eventually." He decided and buried the thought.

"You two shouldn't miss the elder's lecture in three days. Don't think much over what happened today." Cheng Zhi gently advised them before they parted ways.

"Elder brother Cheng, will you be entering the supreme heaven mystic realm as well?" Long Feng asked before he left.

"I'm not sure. I've heard that it's a destiny changer for cultivators, but I'll have to think over it. Recently, I've been more drawn to refining pills than cultivating and fighting everyday." Cheng Zhi replied lightly.

"Are you interested in it, junior brother?" Long Feng nodded helplessly.

"I did want to enter it, but I've seen that my chances are minuscule at best."

"Indeed. You don't stand much of a chance right now. Xiao Hu is as strong as a refined mid stage deity, yet even he wouldn't rank among the top hundred in the peak." Cheng Zhi nodded. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

'so that's how strong Xiao Hu is…' Long Feng mentally noted that. Refined mid stage… that was nearly two levels stronger than Ren Ji, who had yet to reach the late stage deity realm not to mention refining his cultivation for the second time.

"The strength that will assure you a spot into the mystic realm is at least the peak deity realm with two refinements, or late stage deity realm with all three refinements." Cheng Zhi added thoughtfully.

"Normal cultivation won't help you in the time left. I'll think of something and let you know in a few days. But don't get your hopes up." Long Feng nodded. His hopes were never up to begin with. He and Xiao Hu returned to their caves. Along the way, Long Feng learned some things regarding the body tempering path, including the fact that he needed to form true force from within his body. True force was a unique energy that was on equal standing with true essence.

It contained overwhelming power, representing the pinnacle of mortal body tempering. Also, there wasn't anything like the refinement stages in the body tempering path. One would simply keep tempering their body, pushing out their potential untill they eventually hit their mortal limit. That limit could be different for each person.

Some would hit their limit after reaching a physical strength equal to a normal peak deity, others would be equal to a peak deity who had refined their cultivation only ones, and very rarely would they reach the level of power attained by double refined peak deities. As for triple refined peak deity level, the number of people who could reach it with their body could be counted on one hand in every era. Once one hit their limit, then further tempering their body would result in the collapse of their entire body.

The next step after that limit was the same for both body temperers and cultivators. They would need to undergo heavenly baptism to shed their mortality. Only then could they transcend their shackles and reach for new levels of power. After learning this, Long Feng decided to pause his body tempering for a few days before attempting to form his true force. The result of merging his true essence with the true force would make him as strong as someone like Lan Wujie.

He returned to his cave and spent the next three days stabilizing the remainder of his cultivation. At this point, he was already at the threshold of a breakthrough to rank six Imperial realm once again, and his foundation was sufficiently sturdy. On the day of the lecture, he met up with Cheng Zhi and Xiao Hu and they headed towards the Dao assertion platform. The so called platform was actually located on a steep cliff at the back of the mountain.

A complex platform with several ancient runes inscribed upon it sat stably on the very precipice of the cliff, staring down into the fear inducing abyss. Hundreds of disciples sat facing the platform, and dozens more arrived with each passing second. There was no chairs to seat on, so everyone was seated comfortably on the ground without complaint. Even the top disciples sat down at the forefront in silence.

After Long Feng and the other two arrived, Cheng Zhi led them directly to the first row and they all sat down. Even as hundreds of disciples gathered, the place was surprisingly quiet as everyone waited. To top things up, a few deacons actually showed up and sat down on the ground as well without care for their face. And no one blamed them. The path beyond the Dao realm was extremely difficult and unclear.

At their levels, seeking higher levels was their lifeline, but they had all reached the limits of their potential. Many of them were nearly a hundred years of age and even older. Forget merely sitting on the ground alongside hundreds of disciples, they could become disciples themselves, even servants if it would even slightly light up the path beyond the Dao realm for them. Disciples didn't stop streaming in until nearly two hours later.

Everyone who was in the sect and was willing to listen to the lecture would be here already by now, so no one else came over. The scene of nearly a thousand disciples sitting in absolute harmony was something that was rare, to say the least. Only an elder could possibly command such effect. An incense stick worth of time later, an old man suddenly appeared on the platform. He was dressed in plain robes with a wrinkled face, but his pupils were bright enough to compete with the stars.

His appearance was extremely strange, and many disciples stared at him without realizing that he was there at all. It was like he had always been seated there, but no one could see him till now. His plain robes and listless expression made him appear like an old man who was approaching the final years of his life. There was no fluctuation or aura around him, but no one doubted even for a moment that he was the elder they had been waiting for.

The silence was so deep that the air blowing seemed to echo with a subtle tune, till it was broken by the old man.

"I have spent a hundred years of my life in seclusion, trying to figure out a path to the next realm and increase my lifespan… unfortunately, that realm has eluded me. I am approaching my twilight years and I decided to pass on some of the understanding I've built over hundreds of years of cultivating."

"I can't recall the exact time I was a youth like most of you here. It was long ago, about five hundred years ago. I was merely average amongst all other geniuses I met, not unique in any way. But I once met a core elder out of luck, and his sublime power left me with a burning will to reach that level in my lifetime." The old man chuckled.

"Many laughed, said I was a fool. At some point, I nearly believed so myself. But I was determined to prove them all wrong and surpass myself."

"After five hundred years, I still haven't reached that realm which I dreamed of, but in a way, I succeeded. I proved the world wrong. Many of those geniuses failed to reach the Dao realm, and among those who did, only a pitiful few surpassed it."

"The thing is… talent isn't always everything. One's talent merely determines your potential, but doesn't determine how much of that potential you will realize. Instead, determination can take you to the limit of your potential and even surpass that limit."

"Alright, enough nonsense about myself. Let me talk about the true essence of the deity realm, since most of us here at at that stage."

"The Connate realm to the Imperial realm are known as the five energy gathering realms. In truth, those realms don't exist for battles. Instead, they exist to acclimate the body to energy and build an extremely stable foundation in preparation for the true beginning of cultivation, the Dao realm." Many disciples couldn't help but gasp lightly at those words. The true beginning of cultivation?

"That's right. Only after stepping into the Dao realm myself did I realize that I was just taking my first true steps into the path of cultivation. All I had been doing before was building up a foundation that would take me far upon that path. That doesn't mean the five energy gathering realms aren't important. In fact, without them, one can never shed their mortal form. The mortal body is extremely fragile, and those realms slowly mould it so it can withstand the extremely powerful true energies."

"That brings us to the deity realm, the doorstep of true cultivation. True essence is formed and the spirit core transforms into the deity ocean, capable of holding true essence. Each stage in the deity realm strengthens the deity ocean, slowly transforming it into something… sublime. Slowly, your energy reaches the limit of what your mortal form can bear and stops progressing."

"That's when you must establish a unique connection with the heavenly will. The heavenly will remains a concept beyond our understanding. It is the very foundation of this world, and all laws and even the natural energy comes from it. To shed your mortality, you will need to gain heaven's recognition."