Chapter 1( New World )
"Yesterday was exhausting"
"Errr why does my back hurt?"
Rubbing his eyes Adam looks around.
"Huh?.... This is not my room."
All he sees are rough rocks. Groaning, Adam gets up and walks to the cave entrance to survey his surroundings.
"What kind of prank is this?, where am I ?"
"...."
Looking around he seems to be present in a cave on top of a hill overlooking a huge forest.
While surveying the forest he suddenly hears cracking of trees, turning his gaze towards it and sees them.
A boar and a snake the size of a semi truck. Adam watching them fight each other in awe. Causing devastating destruction on trees and other parts of the forest as they brawl.
"Oh shit..... No fucking way"
These circumstances feel familiar to a setting found on most novels
"I.. I have been transmigrated!"
"....then what kind of world am I in?"
Redirecting his gaze back inside the caves he sees a dark passage and 2 books inside.
Walking up to 1 of the books he reads the cover title.
'cultivation: the path to immortality '
"Damn.. a ruthless cultivation world... Shit"
Flipping to the first page
' an overview of the cultivation methods used in the Ebonreich Empire '
'Note: only contains the information up to the Qi condusation realm if the reader wishes to ascend above, it is highly recommended to join a sect'
'commissioned by his excellency Siegfried von ebonreich'
'as the movement to give cultivation opportunities to all this book is being distributed to all Stores '
'Editor's Note: Due to the gradual decline of ambient Qi over the past 14 million years, modern cultivators should temper expectations when comparing their progress to ancient texts.'
"Geez.. a lower cultivation world too"
Flipping to the next page.
'A Word from the Compiler
By: Archivist Elric of the Imperial Bureau of Cultivation Affairs
Greetings, aspiring cultivator. Or... person who picked this book up because it was free.
Congratulations on taking your first steps toward immortality, glory, or at the very least, slightly better muscle tone. This humble tome, commissioned by His Excellency Siegfried von Ebonreich as part of the "Cultivation For All" initiative, is meant to guide you through the basics of the cultivation path. Specifically, the very basics. If you're hoping for divine secrets, legendary techniques, or how to shoot lasers out of your hands—this is not that book. Please join a sect. Seriously.
What you'll find here is a carefully regulated, peer-reviewed, safety-verified introduction to cultivation. We've even updated it to reflect modern ambient Qi reduction (see page 3, footnote 17).
May your steps be steady, your posture correct, and your expectations modest.
And remember:
If it starts glowing and no one told you why—it's probably about to explode.
Best of luck,
Archivist Elric
Imperial Bureau of Cultivation Affairs, Office of Beginner Enlightenment & Community Outreach
Body mind attunement ( pseudo first realm )
So, you've decided to "cultivate," have you? Congratulations on taking your first wobbly step onto the Path. This is where you begin to realize your body is not, in fact, ready. The Body-Mind Attunement stage is less about soaring through the heavens and more about not wheezing after light jogging.
Purpose:
To get your body and mind to stop arguing and maybe start working together. Think of it like trying to tune a broken zither while it's on fire. Coordination, breath control, basic spiritual sensitivity—you know, the stuff ancient sages mastered in the womb.
What You Actually Do Here:
Breathe. No, really. Cultivation breathing. It's harder than it sounds.
Stretch. Yes, the flexible do live longer.
Do build some muscle. Just don't build too much to the point that you cannot move.
Meditate until your legs go numb and your thoughts scream.
Try to feel Qi. You probably won't, but it builds character.
Goal:
Achieve the mystical state of "slightly above average mortal."
this realm is optional. If your that much talented you might not need this at all.
Body Tempering Stage (Also known as: "Turning Your Meat Suit Into a Weapon—Very Slowly.")
Welcome to the first proper stage of cultivation, where you finally get to do more than just breathe and hum softly. Now it's time to suffer physically, not just emotionally.
What You're Supposed to Do:
Body Tempering isn't just "get strong." There's an optimal order, because of course there is:
1. Bones – Start here. They're your foundation. Strong bones = less chance of snapping in half mid-duel.
2. Organs – Next up, protect the squishy parts. Heart, lungs, liver—yes, even the spleen.
3. Muscles & Skin – These come last. Don't flip the order unless you enjoy internal bleeding.
How You Actually Do It:
No, you can't just eat more meat and do pushups. You'll need spiritual pills or rare fruits, ideally the ones listed in 'The Encyclopaedia of Spiritual Plants' (Available wherever books are still barely surviving taxation under the Ebonreich Empire).
Goal:
Achieve a body durable enough to hold Qi without rupturing like a boiled sausage. Ideally, you'll emerge stronger, tougher, and able to leap over small fences.
---
"That's it, my first priority should be to achieve body tempering so as to have even a chance of surviving"
"Well according to the 2nd book which just so happens to be 'The Encyclopaedia of Spiritual Plants' that I need"
Flipping the pages until he reached the information needed.
'Silverroot berry [with a clear photo realistic drawing of what it looks like]
which nourishes and strengthens the inner structure of bone.
and
Titanstone peach [with a clear photo realistic drawing of what it looks like]
Which hardens the outer layer of bone
These act as a substitute for the pill, the only difference between pill and fruit is its effectiveness. more fruits are needed to have the same effect as a pill. While being relatively safer than the pill'
With that he starts exploring the forest below luckily there were no beasts trying to attack adam.
Which might be because of the fight between the boar and snake.
After foraging.
He finds all the fruits mentioned in the book and returns to the cave.
The book said that eating the fruits by specific combination can be substituted for the bone tempering pill.
So He eats it accordingly and waits to see what kind of effects it's going to produce.
Some kind of warm energy starts scratching his bones.
"Damn this is extremely uncomfortable and painful"
powering through this discomfort he waits for it to end, which the effects subsided after a long time.
"Finally it's over. This warm energy must be the so-called Qi "
He get up not feeling that much fatigue.
"Maybe I should try more"
trying again afterwards he got up only to immediately faint fall face first and sleep through the night.
He wakes up the next morning and is already feeling somewhat stronger than before.
"I feel 50% stronger than before, I might be able to go further outside" he exclaimed
There were still some fruits left inside. With that he thought he should go outside in his best since the fight between the 2 beasts might have come to a conclusion and the other beasts might have come back.
He tried the fruits again but this time he did not faint but felt very tired.
During this time he had a sudden thought.
"since I transmigrated, maybe i have some kind of golden finger like a system"
"Status!"
"System!"
He called every word that he could think of but nothing happened.
"Looks like only human language has been given "
After a long rest he got up again.
"A +10% more increase"
"...."
"How do I know if the limit has been reached I don't want to do this for a long time and then find that too much of this is detrimental to cultivation"
"...."
"I will worry about it later Survival comes first "
Adam went outside and found a strong stick which he used for self defence. There were no big beasts coming to eat him yet but there was a fox trying to pounce at him which he noticed a while ago looking with sharp eyes behind the bushes.
"I have to do something about this"
Adam lets his guard down a bit by ignoring it.
It was a little too eager to pounce on him.
"I guess it was too hungry "
Anyways he bashed its head with the stick mid air. His reaction was too fast. Everything appeared in slow mo like a 0.3s delay
While it was stunted Adam grabbed it by the snout and growling at him as Adam snapped a vine from a tree and tied the fox to the stick and brought it along with him.
After foraging more fruits which he tied in his shirt / pouch he go back to the cave
"Now what will I do with you?"
Looking at the tied up fox whimpering while being at this hill.
"Well whatever I'll deal with you later, stay there for now"
Adam ate the fruits again this time the effects were less than before so he ate twice as much and fainted again and woke up faster than before.
" it was evening when I ate the fruits but now it's night time "
"Maybe after a few more times this will not have any effect anymore this might be how I know my bones tempering is completed"
Adam looks at the fox besides him tired from all the whimpering he decide to tame it. So removing the vines around its jaws.
it growls at him.
"Relax I am not going to hurt you"
Adam threw some of the fruits he foraged. The fox looks at him for a few moments and starts eating them. since it's night already he ate the fruits again fainted and woke up in the morning.
"I get this feeling that after 1 more time the bone tempering will be finished "
But looking around seeing that all fruits are gone from eating before.
"Looks like I have to forage for twice as more.But first I have finished my morning business "
After taking a fat dump near the hill and covering it up with dirt after using leafs as toilet paper.
Adam goes back to the forest to forage
After a few hours gathering everything adam while going back to the cave on the way there in the middle of the path he see the big ass boar looking at him, him froze with fear the boar sensing that stare him down and charged fast.
"It's fast!!"
Adam dodged to the side fast, missing by a foot and running back for the caves the boar is still chasing after Adam slowly getting closer and closer. Keep in mind Adam is running 40 mph. faster than Usain Bolt's top speed.
Slowly getting near the cave
'Please don't follow me to the cave !, please don't follow me to the cave!'
When adam reached the hill the boar seemed to have stopped there huffing. looking at the boar from a distance. Staring at each other the boar uninterested goes back into the forest
''Huff Huff''
"Damn that could have gone bad "
"The beasts don't want to come here for some reason the bigger ones don't want to either, there must be something deeper inside the cave"
Resting in the cave eat the fruits giving some to the fox. It looks at adam for a moment again and eats the fruits it doesn't growl at adam anymore
It looks at adam as it awakens some kind of intelligence akin to a dog.
Adam tries to pet.
"Grrrrr"
"Not there yet huh".
Looking at a dark passage inside the cave.
"There must be something deeper inside the caves I have to check out"
"But now is not the time"
"My bone tempering is completed it has only been a few days. Eating more of those fruits doesn't have an effect anymore."
"It's time to refine my organs"
"It's fortunate that I left the specific fruit for this for future use"
"Let's see here"
"I have the purging sunfruit"
"Hmmm..."
"I have to cook the medicine "
"....."
"The fuck am I supposed to cook with.
Where the fuck am I supposed to find a pot in this wilderness "
"...."
"...."
"Maybe I can make a mortar with a boulder and cook with it. "
"Hmm...."
"Yeah I should go with it"
The next day. With a makeshift mortar and fireplace alchemy begins.
Chapter 2 ( first organ tempering experience )
"Hmm.."
"Is it supposed to look like this"
Looking at the black tar like substance
"I did it perfectly as the instructions...."
"Is it because of the cookware"
Looking in the book he saw a particular note
'remember alchemists you have to control the flame perfectly'
"That explains it"
"I will have to make do with this"
Drinking the tar while suppressing his urge to vomit he sits there waiting for elixirs effect
"Nothing is happening it's been roughly 30 min"
"Oh something is coming up it's the same feeling as before the same warm feeling of Qi"
"It's flowing towards my organs and it's getting warmer"
A warm liquid drops on his hand
"Blo.. blood"
The blood starts flowing from his seven orifices he vomits out dark blood. Falls down still vomiting dark blood.
"It hurts.. it hurts soo fucking much... my insides are burning...they are liquefying"
After what felt like 3 hours of agonizing torment the pain subsided.
He gets up grunting. analysing his body sweating a black substance which smelled quite horrible.
"This must be the impurities present inside of me"
"There is a lot of it... It's on my clothes too.It is going to be hard removing this stain and stench"
"I should find a river and just jump in it "
"I'm breathing more clearly now it feels a lot fresher I can hear more clearly I can see more further my skin feels more sensitive and my nose too. The world looks more colourful now more vibrant."
"I feel more alive and, I feel like I wasn't living much before "
After getting hard from this euphoric experience he looks back into the book
[Do until the effects of the elixir disappear]
Remembering the agonizing pain he shudder
"Cultivation is not for the weak willed"
A smirk appears on his face
"But seeing the gains it is exciting"
"A chance to gain power and eternal life is far more exciting than this temporary pain"
Adam goes to a river close by and jumps in it. washing away all the Grimes and stains
Time goes by.
For weeks on end Adam did nothing but forage for the materials and further advancing his realm. The fox started to loosen up with him. He let go of the restraints and it now acts like his hunting dog. The fox has gotten bigger than before almost the size of a grey wolf.
"I'm gonna name you Red"
"Because of your deep red fur"
Red helps in foraging leading to elixirs material
While foraging Adam finds a trap door covered by leaves and mud.
Opening the trap door he only sees pitch black darkness.
"Should I go inside. It seems risky"
Red jumps inside
"Damn it "
"RED!!"
In the darkness Red barks
"Thank God "
Adam decided to jump in too
Falling to the ground with a grunt
"This is moderately deep"
Looking at the entrance he gets a sudden realisation.
"ooooh noooo..."
"I cannot jump out of this now"
"Damn it this is what I get for jumping without thinking"
"so stupid"
"I hope there is another exit in there"
Walking through the dark hallway. Adam reaches a giant 10ft door
"This door is covered by a talisman for some reason"
"Since there is no other way out I have to go through this one"
Adam tried to open it but it felt like it weighed 1 tone
"Huu.. I can open it if I give it my all"
Adam pushes with every single fibre of his being he managed to open an 8 inch gap
Red passed through the gap. Adam tried to slip through the gap but his hand got crushed by the door
Adam uses his other hand to open it up again and frees his hand.
The crushed hand was dripping blood.
Having experienced much more pain he managed to deal with the current pain.
Looking around the room which appears to be an alchemy room on one side and library on the other side with stairs leading to a deeper level.
Miasma was present in the air that seemed to slow down healing significantly.
Adam picks up a book titled 'The Two-Faced God ' which was extremely old by how worn and torn the book looked.
It talked of a major god that brought chaos to the realm 70 million years ago and contributed to the thinning of Qi turning this realm from an upper realm to a lower realm.
Adam looked around the library it was all about alchemy then he went to the deeper room
It was like a cave with a sun hole on top and in the middle of an Altar with markings on it.
Around the Altar there were a lot of dead bodies of both animals and human beings which gave off a putrid and vile smell of rot.
Standing in the middle Adam looks up at the hole in the roof.
The markings suddenly glow.
" Why did it activate!"
Noticing the blood dropping from his hand and absorbing into the markings.
The bodies turn to mist and converge at a point above the altar.
the blood red orb turns bright white making it hard to look at. The orb shines with a divine like aura then it Pierce into Adam's forehead.
"I don't know what this ritual is for but what is going to happen to me now"
Adam feels his vision turning black.
"Where am I"
"You are inside your consciousness"
"Wh-who are you"
"You know me. You've seen my picture moments before "
"The Two faced God"
"Yes but call me zayk"
"So what now?"
"Do you know what kind of ritual that you did"
"That was an accident I didn't mean to "
"That don't matter, you activate it
That too with a low quality sacrifices
But the quantity made up for the quality of them"
"Seeing your memories. you are not from this realm. But from earth"
"You know earth ?"
"Yes of course although rare you are not the only otherworlder ended up here whether intentionally or unintentionally "
"There are others like me? From earth too? "
"A few are still in this realm and you will meet them in the near future"
"Let's go back to the topic"
"The blessing ritual. Although it is called that but this ritual does nothing but call forth a higher being to the lower world "
"I will give you 2 things that you need right now in exchange I will take a part of your lifespan"
Hearing this cost his lifespan he turns serious
"How much exactly?"
"60 years out of the 100 years you have"
"That's too much! "
" Unless the thing I am getting is worth that much I am not taking it "
"Watch your tone mortal. I can just take all your lifespan now and be done with this but seeing your fate connected to that 'beings' I am letting this go "
" I am going to give you an sky grade stealth techniques and a sky grade weapon "
"Can... I get something else"
"Now you want to bargain. Ok then let's hear it"
"Can I get a memory manipulation ability"
"Hoo"
"I can give you that ability But that is gonna cost you 6000 years how are you going to possibly give that now"
"It doesn't have to be now. I can give you in instalments"
"ok"
" let's hear it"
"Every time I breakthrough I get more lifespan. Right now I am in the body tempering realm I only need 1 yr to break through so you can take half of the excess lifespans FROM breakthroughs. 10 years, for the next 35, for the next 100, 400, 2000 and finally the rest 3455. Then all of the lifespan will be paid off"
"A very interesting but high risk deal"
"But this will be a loss for me if you die before paying it all off"
"How about I gave you another condition as well 'you cannot kill anyone you cannot be the direct cause of their death. Humans, demons, evil spirits or not and you cannot make others kill for you they must do it on their own violation. how about that and if you died before paying the dept I will take your soul. The memory manipulation ability will only work up to people 1 major realm higher than you. It will grow along with you. It will be undetected by others. Now whether you can upgrade this is all up to you."
"Think of this as an entertainment for me"
After some contemplating Adam agreed
"I must say. You Are Naive and stupid. You do remember that you are in a cultivation world it is either 'kill or be killed' and you just dug your own grave"
"Let's see if you can survive with your condition and mine together "
"I will be watching you"
Adam awakens in the ritual room
"...."
"I will prove you wrong"
"I am proud of my 0 kill count and I am planning to keep it that way before you made this deal anyways. And now you just did me a favour"
"Watch me "
Chapter 3 (uncovering the undiscovered)
In the cave Adam ponders on what to do.
" If there is a point where I have to kill someone it will be troublesome "
"I have to make sure that I will not be there in that sort of predicament "
"I will deal with it when the time comes"
"I have to only temper the muscle and skin to complete full body tempering. "
And so a week passed Adam has now completed the organ tempering.
"I'm about 2 times stronger than a peak level human . How much stronger will I be after the first realm"
"Now to find the materials for skin tempering" To strengthen the skin cultivators use ironhide mycelium found in deep dark humid caves.
"I will have to try my luck in the cave I'm in right now."
Adam goes deep into the dark passage. Red did not come with him as the fox will not even move an inch towards the passage so Adam had to go alone. Reaching deeper and deeper the humidity increases.
"This might be enough for that mycelium to grow. Not all caves that are humid will have this particular mycelium."
Adam can see clearly even in complete darkness but even then the passage was getting a little darker and darker the deeper he went.
Eventually he found the mycelium.
"Damn there is a lot of it"
So much so that it blocks the passage completely. He picks a lot of them and goes back to the entrance.
"I am not strong enough to completely venture inside yet"
While studying the book for the next recipe Adam comes across an interesting piece of information.
'you might be wondering why can't you just take in the Qi after the body mind attunement. That is not possible because the body naturally expels Qi when you take it in since Qi is a foreign substance not present in your body.
Body tempering makes your body into a vessel which can contain Qi this is the reason body tempering is a requirement and not an option.'
"Hmm this means the chance of the opportunity of being a cultivator is low maybe about 1 in 1000. Only the rich and those who fight for the resources have more chances of starting cultivation. I am lucky that this place has abundant resources the Qi is dense and I have no one to fight over it. This place might as well be considered a holy land for cultivation."
Adam makes the medicinal paste of the mycelium and applies on every nook and cranny of his body.
The effect of the paste kicks in Adam wriths in pain while grabbing his balls.
"Applying on my balls was a very bad idea but this shit is necessary."
This goes on for another week and the skin tempering is completed.
Adam crouched low, pressing into the damp earth. The boar sniffed the air, its jagged tusks glinting. Did it smell him?
A step closer. Adam's breath slowed.
The beast huffed, ears twitching—then turned, distracted by rustling in the bushes.
Adam exhaled silently. It worked. He wasn't just hiding anymore—he was vanishing.
Adam was getting better at hiding and was now able to hide from the big boar and other beasts even fooling their keen senses.
"Now for the muscles I need frostsinew elixir found near icy water falls"
"Guess I have to go to the frozen tundra."
.......…+.........…+......
GREAT HARMONY SECT- ELDERS HALL
The great hall of the grand harmony sect was silent as the air filled with a thick smell of inscent and the weight of authority. At the head of the hall was the sect leader his gaze sharp as he listened to the report before him
"So grand elder guo you bring word of an undiscovered island."
A middle aged man with an insignia that identifies him as a core formation realm expert stepped forward and cupped his first in a respectful gesture.
"Yes sect leader I have obtained this information from a fisherman. While he was trying to find fish further from the coast towards the ocean he claims he spotted an island which does not appear to be on our map. He tried to approach but could not go further after sightings of a sea serpent in the distance. He believes the beast ignored him because of his small boat."
Murmurings were heard throughout the assembled elders.
The sect leader remained expressionless.but his fingers lightly tapping on the armrest of his chair
"A sea serpent..." he mused " if that beast exists at those waters must be at the core formation stage at the least. That means the island must hold something valuable"
The room feels silent at the implications
The sect leaders gaze sharpened.
"We must not let the other sects discover this information. As a core formation stage grand elder you must investigate this island. Take a trusted team with you. But keep this matter quiet. If the resources are worth claiming that must belong to our sect alone."
Grand elder guo bowed deeply.
"Understood sect leader. I have already taken measures to ensure secrecy."
"And what of the fisherman"
The sect leader asked narrowing his eyes slightly.
"He was clever"
Grand elder guo admitted
"In exchange for his silence he requested that his son and daughter take the yearly aptitude test if they show exceptional talent. Let them be joined to the sect as a core disciple candidate and he also requested to take him as a guide for the expedition to the island."
A pause and a low chuckle from the sect leader
"For a fisherman he certainly aims high." He mused.
"But being ambitious is not a sin."
The amusement faded.
After a pause he made his decision.
"Very well. Have his children tested during the yearly examination. If their talent is exceptional, they may be considered as core disciple candidates. If they fall short, they may still enter as inner disciples, provided they meet the minimum qualifications. As for the father—allow him to accompany the expedition, but keep him under close watch. If he proves useful, his family may yet gain further favor."
.........+......…+........
Sea lions surrounded Adam, eyeing him curiously—as if he were a tall, pale, disfigured version of themselves.
Adam decided to follow these sea lions because the material that he needs is found near the banks of frozen lakes and rivers these sea lions seemed to be going towards them. Some of them are blue coloured and have ice like crystal scales which might be from being in a place concentrated in ice element.
Red keeps his distance from the sea lions. sea lions gave him a curious glance and lost interest and went their way.
sea lions soon reached below a waterfall and swam in the pool of water. On the banks of the waterfall the frostsinew grows protected by ice elementals which don't seem to attack the sea lions and their keeping a distance from the frostsinew.
Adam approaches the frostsinew. As soon as he stepped closer. the ice elements sturred and materialised jagged ice spikes and shot him with lethal precision.
Adam felt a chill down his spine. His Instinct screaming to him of the danger. His body reacted before his mind could process. He twisted his body dodging the ice spikes by a hairs breadth
"So this is killing intent"
His heartbeat steady
"After completing organ tempering I can sense it so much clearer"
His gaze turned towards the ice elementals. Watching their patterns. They seemed to attack at random intervals. yet with enough predictability to be exploited.
"Hmm"
"If they are gonna keep this up I might as well use them for training."
Adam had a thought of using the memory manipulation on them but he could not touch them as they seemed to radiate an icy aura which seemed enough to freeze his hand solid
Adam trains dodging the spikes for some time. He then steals the frostsinew and retreats to the cave.
"Now we need to make it into a soup while slowly simmering it"
After creating and consuming the elixir Adam's body goes numb with a sudden cold which seems to spread all over his muscles. His skin starts forming flakes of ice. Frostburm seared through his flesh while simultaneously suffering a brain freeze. After what seemed like an hour of suffering the effects subsided.
"...."
"I have to go through this again for a week."
"....."
"....."
"I miss my home."
"Mom and Dad will be worried sick about me."
Adam starts staring at the ceiling contemplating.
"If I reached the highest realm, maybe... Just maybe, I can find my way back"
"...."
"But by then... they'll already be gone"
"...."
"The moment I appeared here my life on earth is.....gone"
"...."
"...."
"I hope... they can move on without me"
A week goes by
"I have finally completed muscle tempering. Now I feel 3 times stronger than when I first came here"
"With this body tempering is completed"
"Now should I venture deeper inside?"
"...."
"No I should be more careful. I will go after breaking through to the next realm"
After 2 days of rest Adam begins his Qi condensation. Qi condensation
Qi Condensation
As recorded and grumbled through by Archivist Elric.
---
So, you've made it past Body Tempering without exploding. Congratulations. Now we enter the first real realm of cultivation: Qi Condensation. This is where you stop being a "wannabe warrior with tough bones" and start pretending you're in harmony with the universe. Spoiler: you're not.
---
What's the Point?
Simple. You absorb Qi from the environment and store it inside yourself. Neat, right? It's like being a spiritual battery. Except your charger is nature, and nature is stingy.
---
The Three Glorious Dantians
You're born with three Qi reservoirs. No, you don't unlock them. You just didn't know they mattered until now.
Upper Dantian (located in the head, between the brows):
For all the mystical stuff—magic arts, talismans, formations, and staring ominously into space. Side effects may include ego inflation and nosebleeds.
Middle Dantian (in the chest):
Governs emotions, healing, and beast taming. Cultivators who go this route tend to "feel" a lot. Very heartwarming. Very slow progress.
Lower Dantian (just below the navel):
The workhorse. Great for martial techniques, body enhancement, and punching things until they stop moving.
---
Pick Your Poison
You can focus on:
One Dantian (fast and efficient)
Two or all three (versatile, powerful, ruinously expensive and likely to stall your cultivation every third Tuesday)
Choose wisely—or don't. You'll figure it out eventually, probably right before a breakthrough or death.
---
What Can You Do?
Move Qi inside your body.
Feel smug about it.
External use? Not yet. That requires talismans, scrolls, or lying.
You also start forming internal meridian circuits. Handle with care—they're fragile and expensive to repair.
---
The Dreaded Minor Realms
There are 15 minor sub-stages. Think of them as "practice levels" where you get slightly stronger and feel like you're doing something with your life.
Each stage gives a power boost in this delightful escalating pattern:
+0.5%, +1.0%, +1.5%, … up to +7.5%
Add it all up and that's +60% total by the end of Qi Condensation.
Yes, you read that right. Sixty percent. Not bad. Still not enough to win a fight with someone two realms above you, though.
---
Lifespan Bonus:
A generous +70 years, which should give you enough time to mess up twice as much.
---
How to Cultivate Here (for those who skimmed):
Sit.
Breathe.
Draw in Qi.
Filter it through your chosen Dantian(s).
Repeat until your bones hum or your legs fall asleep.
Optional: Use spiritual pills or arrays. Mandatory if you're lazy.
---
Final Thoughts from the Archivist:
This realm is the line between "normal human" and "person who might be worth stabbing." Stick with it, don't rush, and please stop sending letters asking if eating spirit grass counts as cultivation. It doesn't. You're just hungry.
"I should complete the upper dantian first. Since what I lack the most is a magical offence'
Adam starts meditation after 10 minutes or so he stops.
"Why is the Qi absorption so difficult?"
"Feels like trying to drink water out of a 70 inch straw"
He looks into the book where he skimmed through a section.
'IF you are having a hard time taking in Qi. This either means you have skipped the body-mind attunement realm completely or have an underlying condition.'
'In the first case, seek the help of an elder or your master to open up the Qi channels. if you don't have anyone to help.....
starve yourself. Your body will eventually force the channels open."
"Qi channels close after generations without exposure to a Qi-rich environment."
'Remark: kids these days, always looking for shortcuts. tsk tsk'
Adam exhales slowly,closing the book.
"haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Chapter 4 (valuable knowledge)
Adam starts to starve himself intentionally
Day 1 adams fight with the boar
Adam had been searching for two hours when he finally found the massive boar sleeping under a tree in the middle of an open field. As he stepped closer, the boar's ears twitched. It woke up, locking eyes with him.
"A fight with you will decide if I can be compared to the territory lords of this place," Adam muttered.
For a moment, neither moved. Then, both charged. Adam slammed his shoulder into the boar's snout. Both staggered back a few steps. The boar shook it off and charged again. Before it could gain momentum, Adam grabbed its tusks, trying to lift it.
"Shit—too heavy."
The boar lifted him instead, thrashing violently. Adam lost his grip and was thrown to the edge of the field, crashing through a tree splinters biting into his skin before slamming into another.
The world blurred for a second. Pain flared through his ribs
Before he could fully recover, the boar charged again. Adam leaped onto the tree to escape. The boar smashed through the trunk as it were paper. Adam jumped to another tree before it fell.
Seeing an opening, he jumped as high and his heels slammed down with a dropkick on the boar's spine. Its hind legs buckled.
"Not enough."
Using the bounce, he struck the same spot with a hammerfist. The boar collapsed.
Adam landed, breathing hard. He watched as the boar struggled but couldn't stand.
"Guess I win."
"Now then let's try using my memory manipulation ability on you"
Adam placed his hand on the boar's snout and focused. He didn't need to chant anything or make any strange movements.he just 'wanted' to see its memories.
And then, he did.
Images flooded his mind. Running through the forest. Eating roots. Fleeing from a massive praying mantis?. The warmth of the sun while resting under a tree.
He didn't just see them—he felt them.
Hunger gnawed at his stomach. The thrill of escaping a chase sent a rush of adrenaline through his body. The soreness of old wounds lingered.
Adam focused on one memory—an old wound from a fight. He reached for it and moved it to a different moment in time. Now, the boar would remember being injured while drinking water instead of fighting.
The boar twitched, its body stiffening for a moment. It let out a confused snort, shifting its weight uneasily.
"It can feel the difference, even if it doesn't understand why."
Curious, Adam adjusted the memory again, swapping out the enemy that had injured it. The predator became a rabbit.
The boar immediately calmed down. The tension in its body disappeared.
"So, changing memories changes how someone reacts to them."
Still experimenting, Adam took all the times the boar had been injured and stacked them together into a single moment. The boar trembled slightly, eyes shifting around as if something was wrong. Its breathing grew heavier, its body tensing up.
"That was a bit much."
Feeling bad, Adam quickly returned everything to how it was before. The boar relaxed again, its confusion fading. It blinked at him, snorted, then laid back down, as if nothing had happened.
Adam exhaled. "So, I can move, change, and even return memories to normal."
As Adam delved into the memories, time felt endless. Every detail became clear—the flick of a claw, shifting weight, the wind before an ambush. Only a moment passed outside, but inside, he could take as long as he wanted, adjusting and understanding everything at his own pace.
"This is a pretty neat ability "
"There are more powerful beasts other than Mr boar and the big snake"
Adam sees a peculiar thing in one of the visions
"Wait hold on did I see another trap door"
Adam goes in again and confirms his suspicion after a minute of going through that particular part.
"Another trap door. what could possibly be in there"
"I have to investigate while I have the energy for it"
"Well then Mr.boar I hope you can somewhat understand me a little so the next time you meet me don't try to even fight. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life believing you're a frog"
"Red let's go"
Red who was on top of the tree jumps down and follows.
Adam finds the trapdoor and opens it up Red jumps inside the trapdoor and barks.
"I guess he is trying to say it's safe"
Adam remembered last time, he first found a bunch of vines and tied it together to make it longer and tied that to a tree. He then jumps down with the vines in hand. Falling down the hole he finds holes the size of fists on the walls in an alternating pattern.
"Are those supposed to be a ladder"
Adam sees the ground brazing for impact he lands on both legs
Crkk
Some parts of the bone was fractured but Adam did not worry about it as in the peak of the body tempering realm almost all of the damages healed within minutes depending on the severity of the wound.
"This has the same layout as before.A long path and a door at the end"
Opening the door this time was easier.
on the other side of the door he saw a large complex formation array with a huge stone in the middle which seemed to periodically pulse.
"What kind of formation array is this. ...."
"Maybe a barrier array or an illusion array that surrounds the whole island"
"That stone! it must be the light crystal"
"Then this must be an illusion barrier array since illusion happens due to distortion of light"
"No wonder even after soo long no one seemed to have found this island "
"....."
"I have to deactivate this barrier I cannot stay here forever. I am alone here I might go insane"
"Just removing the energy source will be enough. Right?"
Adam moves towards the light crystal no defensive array seems to activate. at first he tries to lift it.
"Heavy! , it's as heavy as Mr. Boar"
"I have to break it into pieces"
Adam punches with all his power and breaks it into 4 big chunks and countless small chunks.
"Qi was fluctuating for a moment"
Red swoops in and ate one of the smaller crystal pieces.
"Red! Why the fuck are you eating that. It's a piece of rock not food!"
"Spit it out!"
Red escapes Adam's grasp and keeps on eating smaller crystal pieces.
"No stop!"
After eating another piece Red stops he then suddenly starts to glow.
"Is he transforming ?"
Red becomes bigger and the red fur turns white.
"You scared me there for a minute Red"
"You have now become bigger. You are as big as me now"
Red shrinks and return to normal size.
"You can control your size too"
Red jumps to his shoulder and wraps around him like a scarf
" Looks like that took a lot of energy from you huh. Go ahead sleep"
Adam then starts transporting the light crystal chunks to the caves.
-----------------------+----------------------+--------------------------
Old Bao's boat rocked gently in the waves as he stared at the island that just seemingly 'appeared'. He had fished these waters for decades, yet never had he seen land here before.
"This"
Old Bao had completed his bone tempering and managed to buy 1 organ tempering pill during his younger days thus he could easily discern the change in Qi.
"A land rich in Qi"
His mind raced with countless possibilities
Places like this could even be considered holy lands of cultivation.
Any sect would have claimed it long ago. Yet, it stood there, untouched. Or was it simply concealed.
As he neared the island a massive form glided through the water. He holds his breath as he recognised what it was.
"A se.. sea serpent!"
The sea serpent lifted its head above the water its cold, reptilian eyes locking onto him. For a tense moment, he thought he was doomed. But then, the serpent simply snorted, sending a small wave toward his boat, before sinking back into the depths, uninterested.
The fisherman exhaled.
"That could've been bad…"
He took one last look at the island, mind already formulating a plan. A land brimming with Qi, protected by a natural guardian.
"This could benefit an entire sect"
If he played this right, he could secure a deal.
Turning his boat around, he paddled back toward the mainland, already thinking of the words he'd use when he was going to the sect elders.