Chapter 2 The Virtual Land
“The giant, giant tree talks?!” Lyu Liang trembled as he gazed at the tree. No matter what, he was certain that the noise came from the giant tree behind him.
“Eh, why is it a mortal child this time? Tsk tsk, this is interesting!” A one-eyed giant walked out from the tree. It was thirty feet tall and was curiously sizing Lyu Liang up.
“A monster? An immortal? It looks…looks so scary!” Lyu Liang reacted at once. He recalled how he greeted the adults usually and hurriedly did a fist and palm salute before he greeted, “Senior Immortal, I am Lyu Liang. I am unsure how I’ve arrived here. Please be kind and send me home.”
“Lad, do you think this is a place where you can come and go anytime you want? Do you know how many people want to come in here but they can’t? The Virtual Realm appears once every two thousand years. Once a person enters, the realm will automatically be sealed. No one can find this place except for the person who entered it! Even if you don’t want to be here now, others can’t enter here as well!” The giant sounded helpless and added, “Moreover, the Master had passed on his skills to you. The Five-element Bead and “Xuanyuan Skill” will only return to this realm when you died. At the same time, this realm will disappear again. It would probably appear after several hundred years later for the next destined person.”
“But my father doesn’t know I am here. He will be panicked!” Lyu Liang was scared and anxious. If he couldn’t return, his father would be worried! However, he was also afraid that the giant would beat him to death if it wasn’t happy with him!
“Leaving this place isn’t impossible, but not at your current state. If you wish to leave, then build a mental relationship with this realm. The way to do that is to tame the stele located on the fifth floor of the Training Tower. Of course, that’s when you have the ability to reach there,” the giant said patiently, “The time spent in the Virtual Realm is half of the time outside. In other words, if you stay here for ten years, it is equivalent to five years outside. Moreover, you’ve had the support of the five elements beads. If you cultivate fast enough, the actual time passed won’t be long.”
His father did not allow him to cultivate, yet he would not be able to see his father without cultivating… Lyu Liang hesitated for a short while before he had a plan. He pledged while clasping his hands, “I will cultivate! Immortal, please teach me!”
“Stop addressing me as an immortal. I am just another spirit in the realm. You can address me as a senior. Since you’ve thought about it, I should also provide you with some guidance.” Seeing that Lyu Liang was more certain of what he wanted, the giant felt contented as well. He continued, “This is an independent space created by Master. We called it ‘Virtual Realm’. Cultivation requires you to absorb the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth, and transforms it for your own use. The density of the Primordial Qi shall determine its standard. For example, the density of the Primordial Qi in the realm belongs to a Heavenly Realm standard. The one you find in the Mortal Realm is never comparable with the one in this realm.”
“Take human as an example. As a mortal being, you need to undergo several levels, namely Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Gold Core, Nascent Soul and Void Return. After you’ve successfully reached Void Return, you’ll need to survive the ordeal before becoming an immortal. If you failed, you’ll die. In addition, you need to know that there’re four stages in each level, which are Early-stage, Middle-stage, Late-stage and Peak. After reaching the Peak of each level, you may proceed to the next level.” The Land Spirit took a look at Lyu Liang before it slowly said, “Not everyone can cultivate. The basic condition for cultivation is to possess the appropriate Spiritual Root or special constitution. Besides the five most common Spiritual Roots in this world, namely the mental, wood, water, fire and earth, there were other additional or exotic ones. It’s very rare to find people that possess such special constitution. They are usually the geniuses in cultivation.”
“‘Xuanyuan Skill’ contains ‘Xuanyuan Mantra’, created by Master. This mantra can produce a powerful soul and help hide one’s cultivation aura. It is the highest level among all other skills in the world!” The Realm Spirit’s tone became exceptionally serious when it mentioned the master.
“Senior, about the master you’ve mentioned, who is he? Where is he? Which level is he in now?” Lyu Liang asked. He was curious about this legendary character as well.
“My master is the creator of the Virtual Land. As for his level, it’s not something you can know now. You only need to know the existence of the Immortal Level was nothing when compared to my master,” the Land Spirit said arrogantly, but its eyes darkened shortly after and he mumbled, “It’s just that ten thousand years ago, Master went to the Sunset Kingdom in the Earth Realm and no one knew his whereabouts thereafter. He seemed to know that he won’t be back soon, so he left his legacy here for the destined one to inherit it.”
“Let’s talk about your cultivation instead. “Xuanyuan Skill” has been imprinted in your soul. You may start your practice from rudiments of it. If you’re unsure of anything, feel free to approach me. When you reach the Middle-stage and Peak of each level, you can choose a magic treasure of the corresponding level.” After which, the Land Spirit waved its hand and a long sword appeared in front of Lyu Liang. At the same time, a house appeared thirty feet away from the giant tree. It added, “I’ll give you this sword for your Qi Refining cultivation. This is to help you in practising swordsmanship. As for the house, you can live there from now on.”
“Let me introduce this place to you first. We’re currently in the middle of the land. Towards the east is the Training Tower. It’s ten-story high, which contains puppets refined by Master. The higher the story, the tougher the puppets. There’s a round plate on the Training Tower door. When you wish to enter the tower, place your hand on the plate and it can automatically detect your cultivation level. As such, the puppets you face in the tower will be suitable for your level.
“Towards the west is the Rare Treasure Hall. It contains all the magic treasures and exotic items that Master has collected over the years. If you’ve successfully passed the Training Tower, you’re able to pick your reward from there. As for other magic treasures, you can own them if you’re lucky enough to become Master’s disciple.”
“Towards the north is the Elixir-refining Room. First of all, you don’t have the Spirit Grass and secondly, you have no refining skills, so you can forget about going in for now. All right, it’s time for you to take a look at your house.” The Land Spirit walked into the tree the moment it finished its sentence.
“Senior, what about the path towards the south?” It was normal for a twelve-year-old child to be curious and this was no exception for Lyu Liang as well.
The Land Spirit was about to step into the tree when it shuddered upon hearing his words. It stared sternly at Lyu Liang and said, “The path to the south is a forbidden ground. It’s also a ground of opportunity. Before you’re certain that you’re the destined one, don’t even think about going in there!”
“My father will be worried if he can’t find me! I need to learn fast and return home!” At this moment, Lyu Liang was feeling very determined. That mischievous “King of the Children” seemed to disappear and was replaced by a cultivator who was stuck in this land and was missing his family members deeply.
From then on, Lyu Liang began his own cultivation journey, but first of all, he got to take a look at “Xuanyuan Skill”.
“Xuanyuan Skill” was divided into two parts. The first part was about Xuanyuan Mantra, the second part was about Xuanyuan Swordsmanship. As explained by the Land Spirit, the Primordial Qi standard in the land was extremely high. By absorbing the Primordial Qi in this land with the help of the mantra and refining it for his own use, he could abstain from food. Hence, Lyu Liang used all his spare time to cultivate. When he didn’t understand anything, he would approach the Land Spirit. Probably due to his determination, as well as his good constitution, Lyu Liang reached initial Qi Refining Level in just three days.
Lyu Liang felt weird when he first started his cultivation. Whenever the Xuanyuan Mantra appeared on his mind, he felt an actual surge of aura entering his body. Three days later, he could form a Sea of Qi in his abdomen. His perception had also gradually extended and became stronger than before.
At the same time, his mind was clearer and his own soul had slowly become increasingly substantial! What surprised Lyu Liang was that his vision improved, or in other words, weirder as he could not only see far, he could see what was behind him without turning around! According to the Land Spirit, this was an initial achievement. He had successfully developed a Divine Sense.
Lyu Liang had also gradually familiarized himself with the environment and weather on the Virtual Land these days. There were also daytime and night time in this place. The only difference was the temperature; it was warm in the day and extremely cold in the night.
Other than the Land Spirit, there were other Magic Treasure Spirits in this place. After all, Dreamless Heavenly Lord was a respectable being. The standard of his magic treasures was already high. In addition, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth had produced a lot of spiritual intelligence. Of course, low-level magic treasures would not be able to produce spiritual intelligence. The Magic Treasure Spirits stored here were basically above the Nascent Soul Level. Lyu Liang had already made friends with a few of them which had great characteristics.
Though Lyu Liang was only twelve years old, the two months of cultivation he had gone through and his strong concern for his father had made him more mature than any average children of his age. Through the teachings of several Magic Treasure Spirits in this land, he had also slowly got to understand the unknown cultivation world.
The lifespan of a cultivator was very long. Moreover, after every advancement, his lifespan would significantly increase; Qi Refining cultivators would have the maximum lifespan of 200 years; Foundation Establishment cultivators would have the lifespan of 500 years; Gold Core cultivators would have the lifespan of 1000 years; Nascent Soul cultivators would have the lifespan of 2000 years; Void Return cultivators would have the lifespan of 5000 years. The cultivators that had successfully survive the ordeal would become immortal, and their lifespans would at least be 10000 years. It was said that once your cultivation reached a certain high level, though it was uncertain that you would not become older, there was also be a possibility that you might become immortal!
From the Gold Core cultivation onwards, the cultivators’ appearances would basically stop aging. Hence, one could never judge the strength of the cultivators by their appearances. A young-looking cultivator could also be an immortal lord.
The advancement became tougher in the later stages. The individual sect often started training the cultivators in the core areas from the Gold Core Level. This was because normal sects might not even have the Void Return cultivators, needless to say about having an immortal lord. Hence, once a cultivator reached the Gold Core Level, his status changed instantly. If he could reach the Nascent Soul or Void Return Level, that cultivator would be considered as a respectable being within the sect.
After Lyu Liang arrived here, he met a total of three Magic Treasure Spirits. They were Grandpa Tianqiongzi, Boy Feiling and Fairy Qingci. As they had a good temperament, they became friends after a few days. He had also obtained a lot of information from them; however, Lyu Liang was unsure what kind of magic treasure they were from. Whenever he wanted to inquire more about them, they would say, “When the time comes, you’ll know.”
After cultivating for more than two months, a fresh lavender purple aura suddenly appeared from the top of Lyu Liang’s head and around his body. “Guess I’ve mastered the Early-stage of Qi Refining Level and can no longer improve based on the mantra. Something seems to have blocked me from advancing. It’s better for me to consult the seniors. ‘Xuanyuan Skill’ is indeed powerful, but it’s too tough to master it. Sigh, I’ve got to work harder!” he said.
There was a total of ten levels of Xuanyuan Mantra in “Xuanyuan Skill”. The higher the level, the more difficult it became. According to the Land Spirit, Lyu Liang was the third person who had entered this land that Master had created. The former two cultivators had failed to master “Xuanyuan Skill” before their deaths, and hence, they did not manage to inherit Master’s legacy. Between the two of them, the second cultivator had reached the highest level. He had achieved Level 8 in mantra and Level 7 in swordmanship. Unfortunately, he got into a fight with someone and died from the battle.
The ten levels of Xuanyuan Mantra were: Qi Refining Realm, Qi Stabilization Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, Foundation Stabilization Realm, Gold Core Realm, Core Stabilization Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, Nascent Soul Stabilization Realm, Void Return Realm and Void Stabilization Realm. It was said that cultivators who had reached the Void Stabilization Realm could have as high as 50% chance of surviving the ordeal!
There were also ten styles in Xuanyuan Swordsmanship, which were: Unification Move, Wind-dodging Move, Water-forging Move, Thunder Light Move, Cloud-rising Move, Ocean-splitting Move, Dragon-slaying Move, Immortal-killing Move, Shadowless Move and Rebirth Move. Any cultivator who had mastered this set of swordsmanship could be considered invincible!
“Hehe, I can only say the mechanism behind Master’s puppets is profound. The puppets he had created, regardless of their levels, contain spiritual intelligence. Hence, you just need to treat them as your fair opponent,” Fairy Qingci said. She hesitated before she added, “And also, if you lost to them, don’t be disappointed. You still have a long time.”