Chapter 448: The Levels of the Mortal Transcendence Realm

A sea of white clouds, beasts striking the sky.

On the back of a massive spirit beast, Zhang Xuan stood by the window, gazing into the distance.

This was a Mortal Transcendence realm tier-three spirit beast, the mount of “Young Master” Zhao Feiwu.

Having learned about the巫魂师 and Honghai City, Zhang Xuan did not linger long; he brought Zhao Ya and the others and left directly.

Mo Yu was now the king of the Xuanwu Kingdom, with countless important matters to handle, so naturally she could no longer travel with him. She stayed in the royal city, entrusting Luo Qianhong to look after her.

Originally, he had intended to ride the Iron-Fanged Skyhowl Beast, but upon hearing that Honghai City was no less than a million li away, he immediately abandoned the idea.

At such a distance, the Skyhowl Beast was only at the Sovereign realm; even if it traveled day and night, it would take a month or so—far too time-consuming.

Zhao Feiwu’s mount, however, had already reached Mortal Transcendence tier-three, and its back was spacious. Everyone could sit on it without feeling cramped. Moreover, Zhao Feiwu insisted on traveling together, so Zhang Xuan did not refuse.

They had been traveling for five days now.

“Teacher, aren’t you a poison master? How did you become a subordinate of the special envoy…”

Having finally met his teacher again, Gu Mu had also followed along, looking doubtfully at Jin Conghai not far away.

Poison masters—everyone turned pale at the mention of them. They generally stayed away from the court and were left alone. How had his teacher become a loyal retainer in this “Young Master’s” household?

“Back then, I left the Poison Hall to seek revenge, but I was ambushed by my enemy. Although I killed him, I was severely wounded. It was the Young Master’s father who saved me… Over the years, to prevent others from discovering my identity as a poison master, I have rarely used poison!” Jin Conghai said.

As Gu Mu had thought, poison masters rarely pledged allegiance to others—not because they were unwilling, but because anyone who took in such a person would be feared and isolated… Just imagine, who would dare to take one in?

Jin Conghai had been saved by the Young Master’s father and had followed him ever since. To prevent his identity from being exposed, he had not used poison for many years. In others’ eyes, he was merely a diligent servant, unaware that he was also a terrifying four-star poison master.

“Teacher!”

Ignoring the conversation between the master and disciple, Yuan Tao and the others came over.

At this moment, Yuan Tao, with the help of the spirit beast blood, had reactivated his Dragon Rhinoceros bloodline. His strength had increased greatly, and he had already reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm, not at all inferior to Zhao Ya.

As for Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, Liu Yang, and Sun Qiang, Zhang Xuan bestowed a lotus seed upon each of them.

This time, he only taught them a simplified version of the Heaven's Path cultivation technique, without performing a direct infusion.

Even so, with such a heaven-defying treasure as the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed, coupled with the simplified Heaven's Path technique, their progress was as easy as drinking water. In just five days, they broke through several consecutive levels and had all reached the initial stage of Grandmaster.

Although they were slightly inferior to Zhao Ya and the other two, their strength was very solid, without any hint of instability. More importantly, they had not yet consumed even one percent of the lotus seed's energy.

It was foreseeable that once they truly absorbed all the energy within, even if they could not break through to the pinnacle of Sovereign, they would not be far off.

Seeing such precious Crimson Flame Lotus Seeds given away casually, and watching his students and subordinates break through rapidly, Zhao Feiwu and the others were inwardly devastated. However, as the devastation occurred more and more frequently, they gradually grew accustomed to it.

To them, the Zhang Xuan before them was no longer someone who could be judged by common sense.

Rather than exhausting themselves by overthinking, it was better to accept it calmly.

"Ahead is Honghai City!"

The spirit beast continued forward, and soon a massive city appeared in everyone's sight.

Pressing close to the horizon, countless buildings looked like tiny particles embedded in the ground, reflecting the sunlight.

Even the Xuanwu King City, which was already quite large, paled in comparison to Honghai City, as if it were a remote rural village.

As expected of one of the largest cities in the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance—setting aside other aspects, just its area and architectural style were beyond comparison with any titled kingdom or first-class kingdom.

"Honghai City gathers merchants from all sides. Not only the Xuanwu Kingdom, but also the Chihe Kingdom, the Liusu Kingdom, and many other titled kingdoms conduct trade here, earning profits from price differences and reaping astonishing gains. This can be said to be the most prosperous commercial hub in the entire kingdom alliance!"

Zhao Feiwu explained.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The books in the Tianwu Kingdom's library had descriptions of Honghai City, calling it the City of Commerce. The trade and communication between the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance and its subordinate kingdoms basically took place here.

In terms of prosperity, it even surpassed the royal capital, the City of Ten Thousand Kingdoms.

"The Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance is not a small place like the Xuanwu Kingdom. Your strength has reached the Half-Step Mortal Transcendence realm, which is not weak among your peers, but here, you still need to be cautious."

Zhao Feiwu warned with a grave expression: "The Master Teacher Academy in Honghai City has a four-star master teacher stationed there. Although he is only at the mid-stage of four-star, his true strength has already reached the third level of Mortal Transcendence, the Yin-Yang realm—unfathomably profound!"

“Yin-Yang Mirror?” Zhang Xuan looked over.

He had long known that above the ninth level of the martial artist realm was the Mortal Transcendence realm, which was also divided into nine levels, but he did not know the specific subdivisions.

“The Mortal Transcendence realm has nine levels: the first level, Life Extension; the second level, Primordial Energy; the third level, Yin-Yang; the fourth level, Turbid-Clear; the fifth level, Spirit Fusion; the sixth level, Bridge to Heaven; the seventh level, Return to One; the eighth level, Treading Void; and the ninth level, Cocoon Seal!”

Understanding his intent, Zhao Feiwu explained: “You should already know about the Life Extension realm. Upon reaching this level, although one’s strength remains at one hundred thousand without increase, one’s lifespan breaks through the limit of one hundred years. With each small level increase, one gains an additional fifty years of life, reaching a maximum of three hundred and fifty years at the peak.”

“As for the second level, the Primordial Energy realm, it involves further refining the true qi within the body, transforming it into primordial energy that can mobilize the natural world. ‘One origin begins anew, all things are renewed…’ Primordial energy and true qi are completely different. The former represents strength and life potential, while the latter can merge with nature and draw from it, already capable of revealing countless mysteries!”

“For instance, an ordinary piece of paper, infused with primordial energy, is very likely to become spirited, floating on its own and dancing around. Therefore, the Primordial Energy realm is also what we commonly call the Mana realm; primordial energy is mana.”

“As for the third level, the Yin-Yang Mirror realm, yin and yang give birth to each other, powers complement each other, and strength becomes even greater. Upon reaching this cultivation level, the cauldron’s power can no longer restrain you, and you possess the ability to destroy heaven and earth! For example, a distant mountain peak can be shattered with a single blow.”

Zhao Feiwu had extensive knowledge of cultivation levels and spoke in a leisurely manner.

“A mountain peak can be shattered with a single blow?”

Zheng Yang and the others were astonished.

Having reached the Grandmaster realm, they already considered themselves formidable—able to easily throw rocks weighing thousands of kilograms and twist steel with a single punch.

But no matter how strong, this was still the limit of the physical body and human capabilities. To shatter a mountain with a single punch was far beyond their reach; it was almost like a deity.

No wonder the Mortal Transcendence realm was also called the Spirit realm. Such abilities were indeed something martial artists could not contend with, not even half-step Mortal Transcendence cultivators.

“As for the fourth level of Mortal Transcendence, the Turbid-Clear realm, it involves separating the clear and turbid in primordial energy and distinguishing the light and heavy in the soul. With proper cultivation, one can elevate the quality of primordial energy to a higher level. In other words, this is an opportunity for cultivators to upgrade their primordial energy (true qi) grade. If one can rise from the lower three grades to the middle three grades, the benefits are immense without me needing to elaborate!”

Zhao Feiwu chuckled and continued: “The Four-Star pinnacle master teacher, Hall Master Kang of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, is at this level. With such cultivation, one can act with impunity in the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, offending no one. As for the fifth level, the Spirit Fusion realm, I have only heard of it. It is beyond the scope of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, and I am not clear on the specifics.”

“I see!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The nine levels of Mortal Transcendence, like the nine levels of martial artists, each level was a separate world, requiring unremitting effort and persistence to cultivate.

Of course, for him, it still required seeking countless secret manuals to form the Heavenly Dao cultivation technique.

“We’ve arrived. Let’s go down!”

As they spoke, Honghai City came into view. The wings of the savage beast flapped, and they descended straight down.

Like other royal cities, entering the city required paying a certain fee. Zhang Xuan showed his master teacher badge, and this expense was waived.

Walking onto the wide streets of Honghai City, the surroundings were bustling with activity, with various goods for sale everywhere.

The most precious Ghost-level pinnacle weapons previously available in the Lin family could be bought in any shop here.

“In Honghai City, gold coins are basically useless. The most common currencies for transactions are course jade talismans and spirit stones.”

Zhao Feiwu said: “Master teachers’ course jade talismans are graded. A Four-Star one-hour course can be exchanged for one hundred hours of Three-Star courses, a Three-Star for one hundred hours of Two-Star, and so on. As for spirit stones, about ten can buy a Three-Star course jade talisman!”

“Using course jade talismans as currency?”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

No wonder master teachers held such a revered status. Their class hours were equivalent to currency; even those who did not wish to cultivate could hardly be indifferent to money.

However, upon careful thought, he understood.

A master teacher’s class hours could help cultivators solve countless problems and obstacles in cultivation. Not to mention an hour, even a few minutes could often play a decisive role in breakthroughs.

Using this as a medium of exchange was indeed the fairest and most selfless.

“I heard that a Soul-less Gold Man was unearthed here. If I want to buy it, where should I go?”

After listening to Zhao Feiwu’s explanations for a while and gaining some understanding of Honghai City, Zhang Xuan asked.

“A treasure like the Soul-less Gold Man is extremely precious and is usually auctioned by the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion. If I’m not mistaken, it should be in the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion!” Zhao Feiwu thought for a moment and said.

“Treasure Appraisal Pavilion?” Zhang Xuan looked over. “Is that a place where treasure appraisers gather?”

Back in Tianxuan Kingdom, he had once encountered a ‘Grand Treasure Appraiser’… Mo Yang.

That fellow was merely an apprentice but pretended to be mysterious, using various tricks to swindle money.

Yet, surprisingly, many people believed him.

Although treasure appraisers were only a mid-to-low-tier profession, they were in high demand because they could determine the value of treasures.