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Chapter 472: Below Divine Nine Stages (8k) (Part 1)
Chapter 472: Below Divine Nine Stages (8k) (Part 1)
Chen Mu strode into the White Jade Pavilion and casually picked up a scroll of demon hide from the shelf. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the meticulous writing of tiny characters, immediately recognizing it as something written long ago due to the ancient script that had fallen out of use.
"In the 157th year of the Great Xuan Calendar, demons from the outer seas invaded. The court dispatched the Azure Dragon and White Tiger armies to the eastern frontlines, where they engaged with the demons, slaying countless great demons and demon kings. Then, a Tenth-Rank Celestial Demon, the Black Tortoise, appeared and inflicted severe casualties on the Azure Dragon Army. It later vanished into the depths of the outer seas before the two armies could surround it, and its whereabouts remain unknown."
Chen Mu carefully examined the text on the demon hide, discovering that this particular scroll recorded the traces of all Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons that had appeared in the world since the establishment of the Great Xuan Dynasty. The records spanned from the beginning of the dynasty to over a thousand years later.
This meant that the world had not seen any traces of Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons for approximately three hundred years.
According to these records, the Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons attracted widespread attention whenever they appeared, prompting the court and various sects to take action. However, as the most powerful demons of their time, more than half of the records ended with the demons' whereabouts unknown.
Chen Mu scanned the scroll from top to bottom and then placed it back. Although the records about Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons were not entirely useless to him, as he currently needed demon resources for his cultivation, they might prove valuable if he needed to venture out to gather more resources in the future.
After putting down the scroll about Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons, Chen Mu turned his attention to another demon hide. This scroll contained various intelligence reports about the Abyssal Depths, some of which Chen Mu was aware of, while others were new to him. He skimmed through it, his expression thoughtful, before setting it aside.
There weren't many demon hides stored here.
After all, this was the Forbidden Pavilion of the Great Xuan Dynasty, and the intelligence reports it contained were naturally scarce.
After perusing several demon hides, Chen Mu finally found the one he sought—a record about the Great Wilderness. The scroll was densely covered in writing, but the passages were not connected, and the handwriting varied, indicating that different explorers over the past thousand years had recorded their findings.
"The Great Wilderness is located deep within the wilderness beyond the pass and is only accessible to those above the Grandmaster realm. The cosmic tides within are tumultuous, and even Grandmasters who venture in face a perilous journey. Only Blood Transformation experts are truly suited for exploration, but even they face numerous dangers. Countless Blood Transformation cultivators have gone missing in the Great Wilderness over the millennia before the Great Xuan Dynasty's establishment."
This initial intelligence report wasn't particularly helpful to Chen Mu, as he was already vaguely aware of its contents.
He continued reading.
"The entrance to the Great Wilderness is similar to that of the Heavenly Cave Land, constantly shifting and appearing in different locations. Unlike the Heavenly Cave Land, which has a defined size, the Great Wilderness seems boundless. The entrance is ever-changing, with no discernible pattern, unlike the consistent entry and exit points of the Heavenly Cave Land. After numerous explorations, the only pattern discovered is that the entrance remains stable for three to four months after appearing, making this the ideal time for exploration. Once it shifts and disappears, there is no way to return."
"Even when the entrance to the Great Wilderness appears near the same location, the regions within are vastly different. Unlike the changes in the Abyssal Depths caused by earth pulse fluctuations, the Great Wilderness seems to be a completely different spatial region. To this day, a comprehensive map of the Great Wilderness has not been created."
"The dangers within the Great Wilderness are not limited to the cosmic tides; Tenth-Rank Celestial Demons also roam its lands, and not just one. Additionally, there are other peculiar creatures, neither demons nor monsters, that possess formidable strength and mysterious abilities. Even Heaven and Man Masters must tread carefully, as a single misstep could lead to peril. Exploration of the Great Wilderness should be approached with utmost caution."
Chen Mu read through the various messages one by one.
Even after reading only half of the scroll, he gained a deeper understanding of the Great Wilderness and formed some speculations. Based on these messages, the vastness of the Great Wilderness seemed to surpass even the outer seas, with no repeating regions discovered thus far. Moreover, the presence of these 'peculiar' creatures suggested they might be lifeforms born from different worlds.
Chen Mu inferred that the Great Wilderness was either a world even more expansive than the Great Xuan world or a peculiar land connected to various other worlds, not limited to the Great Xuan.
As Chen Mu continued reading, he reached the middle of the scroll, where the content finally changed. For the first time, the text described the Divine Realm.
The Great Wilderness was divided into an outer and inner realm. The outer realm was vast, and each time a passage appeared, it led to a different region. In contrast, the inner realm seemed to be an unchanging territory. Within the inner realm, it was learned that Blood Transformation was the pinnacle of martial arts but not the ultimate cultivation state. All paths led to a single destination known as the Divine Realm.
Upon reading this description, a faint glimmer appeared in Chen Mu's eyes. He continued reading and discovered that the Great Xuan Court had indeed conducted extensive research on the Great Wilderness. Subsequent explorations confirmed the existence of both the outer and inner realms. One could enter the inner realm by traversing the outer realm, but it was even more perilous.
Crossing the outer realm was no easy feat, as even Heaven and Man Masters had to exercise caution. A single mistake could result in death.
The dangers in the outer realm primarily stem from cosmic tides, demons, and otherworldly beings, while the inner realm presents additional threats, including creatures from other worlds akin to the Lingren race. These beings cultivate powers akin to the Martial Dao or entirely different systems, and their languages are incomprehensible to each other. Moreover, their strengths are almost universally formidable!
According to historical records, the Great Xuan Court has explored the Great Wilderness numerous times, and only a handful of expeditions have successfully reached the inner realm. In these records, every alien enemy encountered, even the weakest, possessed strength comparable to Heaven and Man Masters.
The Great Wilderness is vast, and even in the inner realm, ordinary individuals rival Heaven and Man Masters. Could it be that the worlds connected to the Great Wilderness surpass the Great Xuan, existing in a Divine Realm? This thought flashed through Chen Mu's mind.
He continued reading, reaching the bottom, where his eyes narrowed slightly.
There, at the very bottom, were several lines of familiar handwriting. Chen Mu recognized it instantly as belonging to the previous Emperor Xuan, Ji Yongzhao. Although Ji Yongzhao's soul essence had become nourishment for Chen Mu's transformation, granting him fragments of Ji Yongzhao's memories, these memories were fragmented and incomplete, with only a small portion available.
Among these memories, there were almost no scenes of the Great Wilderness, nor any writings by Ji Yongzhao on this demon hide.
As Chen Mu carefully examined Ji Yongzhao's writing, a faint light flashed in his eyes, revealing a hint of surprise and curiosity. These brief passages contained information far beyond what he had previously known!
The first sentence read:
"The Great Wilderness is suspected to be a battlefield or a place for cultivation, connected to numerous worlds comparable to the Great Xuan."
Although this sentence was phrased as a conjecture, it starkly contrasted with past records about the Great Wilderness. Ji Yongzhao must have learned something from the Great Wilderness to make such an inference! This also overturned Chen Mu's previous understanding of the Great Wilderness, which he had believed to be a secret realm or a world surpassing the Great Xuan, akin to the so-called 'Upper Realm.' However, it now seemed unlikely.
Reading further, Chen Mu encountered more information he had never heard before:
"Above the Blood Replacement Realm is the Divine Realm, but attaining the Divine Realm is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Although it is just one step away, the gap between them is as vast as the divide between heaven and earth. According to my knowledge, beings from the Divine Realm cannot enter the Great Wilderness. However, there is a significant disparity in strength among those below the Divine Realm, and they categorize the creatures in the Great Wilderness into nine stages, known as the 'Below Divine Nine Stages.'
Although the specific criteria for these stages are unclear, I can make a rough inference.
Heaven and Man Masters in the Blood Replacement Realm believe they have reached the pinnacle of the Martial Dao's body refinement. In reality, they are still far from even seeing the path to the Divine Realm. The strength they can display in the Great Wilderness is considered one stage below the Divine Realm.
Heaven and Man Masters can reach the second stage below the Divine Realm.
The most exceptional Heaven and Man Masters in the present world can barely reach the third stage below the Divine Realm.
Heaven and Man Masters at their limit might reach the fourth stage below the Divine Realm. The Great Xuan has never produced individuals of this caliber. According to ancient historical records, even the founding emperor, Wu Di, likely did not attain this level. This is a limitation set by heaven and earth, beyond human capability.
Those who comprehend the Primordial Dao Embryo, cultivate the Immortal Soul, or achieve the Immortal Body can reach the fifth stage below the Divine Realm.
Those who achieve two of these three can reach the sixth stage below the Divine Realm.
Those who possess all three can reach the seventh stage below the Divine Realm.
The eighth and ninth stages are unknown to me, both in sight and in hearsay.
"This is getting interesting," Chen Mu said as he studied the demon hide, his eyes gleaming.
He was well aware of the difficulty of attaining the Divine Realm, as no one in the current world had progressed further than him in the cultivation of the Martial Dao's body refinement. Even he had not yet touched upon the so-called 'Immortal Body.'
The 'Below Divine Nine Stages' described by Ji Yongzhao were categorized solely based on strength, and in essence, they still belonged to the Blood Replacement Realm. They had not reached the Divine Realm, so the term 'Below Divine Nine Stages' was quite reasonable.
Similarly, Heaven and Man Masters, in essence, were still in the Blood Replacement Realm. Chen Mu even felt that the process of becoming a Heaven and Man Master was more like a tempering of the heart and soul by heaven and earth, a cultivation of the soul. However, this path was extremely rough and imperfect, filled with heavy dangers at every step. A misstep could lead to soul extinction, revealing the nature of this cultivation path.
As for the vast disparity in strength within the same realm, even to the extent of dividing it into nine stages, Chen Mu did not find it strange. After all, the Blood Replacement Realm was the final step before the Divine Realm.
Just as the gap between Grandmasters was immense, even among Six Viscera Realm cultivators, experts on the Wind and Cloud Rankings could challenge Grandmasters, easily slaughtering ordinary Six Viscera Realm cultivators. The disparity between them was also far beyond a single level.
"Possessing both the Immortal Soul and the Immortal Body... With both, one can indeed step into the Divine Realm," Chen Mu murmured to himself.
Aside from the Primordial Dao, he knew that the Immortal Soul was the Divine Heart, and the Immortal Body was the Divine Body. Possessing both the Divine Heart and the Divine Body meant breaking free from the constraints of heaven and earth, taking the first step into the Divine Realm.
In Ji Yongzhao's records, those who possessed both the Immortal Soul and the Immortal Body, like the 'Sixth Stage Below the Divine Realm' beings, could enter the Divine Realm at any moment. In essence, her sense of anticipation.
Such beings, despite their power, were not invincible in the Great Wilderness. Above them were those who comprehended the Primordial Dao, the 'Seventh Stage Below the Divine Realm,' and even Ji Yongzhao was unaware of the eighth and ninth stages. These beings, instead of challenging the Divine Realm, seemed to suppress their cultivation, preventing breakthroughs. Their presence in the Great Wilderness suggested that it was far more complex than previously understood, perhaps a battlefield or a place for cultivation, as Ji Yongzhao had speculated.
Indeed, Ji Yongzhao knew a crucial piece of information: true Divine Realm beings could not enter the Great Wilderness.
"I wonder which stage my current strength corresponds to," Chen Mu wondered as he set down the demon hide, his expression thoughtful.
According to Ji Yongzhao's judgment, the most exceptional Heaven and Man Masters barely reached the third stage below the Divine Realm. Even if Chen Mu's strength did not reach the fourth stage below the Divine Realm, it should be at the pinnacle of the third stage.
After a moment of reflection, Chen Mu was not overly concerned. With sufficient resources, cultivating the Heaven and Earth Physique to 'Blood Refinement Perfection' would be effortless. Once he stepped into the Celestial Tier and further enhanced his heart and soul, his strength would soar to the pinnacle of the third stage below the Divine Realm. Then, he could genuinely approach the threshold of the Divine Realm!
Chen Mu didn't linger for long and strolled out of the Imperial History Tower, glancing towards the direction of the Front Hall.
He had only spent a short while examining the confidential information, and the personnel at the Front Hall should not have arrived yet. After a brief moment of contemplation, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where is the Great Xuan Court's Eight Phases Chart?
(End of Chapter)
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