Chapter 1191: The Path to Advancement

At Vast Sky City Plaza, under the gaze of a multitude, Lu Ye began, "Regarding the matter of advancing to higher realms, I actually don't know too much. I can only share what I currently understand, so please bear with me, seniors."

After a brief pause to choose his words carefully, he continued, "The cultivation of us cultivators can essentially be divided into two steps: one within the realm and one beyond the realm. There's no need to elaborate on cultivation within the realm; you seniors have all experienced it and are well aware. What we Kyushu cultivators now face is cultivation beyond the realm."

"However, a cultivator's journey is closely tied to their birth realm. If a realm's foundation is insufficient or its level too low, it cannot allow its cultivators to transcend the realm and step into the starry sky. This is both a restriction and a form of protection from the realm for cultivators."

Wuchang asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

He could understand the restriction, as Divine Sea Realm cultivators, no matter how high they flew, could never fully depart the Kyushu world. They always reached a maximum altitude beyond which they could not ascend further.

As for protection, he had never felt it.

"Because the starry sky is filled with countless extremely dangerous, invisible energies. These energies are omnipresent and Divine Sea Realm cultivators are simply incapable of resisting them. So, if a Divine Sea Realm cultivator rashly ventured into the starry sky, they would likely die instantly within moments."

Everyone present looked solemn upon hearing this. Some cultivators who had once tried to fly out of Kyushu secretly felt fortunate, realizing that if their attempt had succeeded that day and they had truly burst through Kyushu into the starry sky, they would have died long ago.

If that were the case, from this perspective, the inability of Divine Sea Realm cultivators to leave their realm was indeed a form of protection.

"Therefore, if Divine Sea Realm cultivators wish to advance further, they must first acquire power that aligns with the starry sky. Only then, after ascending to the next realm, can they freely traverse the cosmos. During this time, the foundation of the Kyushu world is strengthening, and I believe many seniors have felt the bottlenecks that have restricted them for years beginning to loosen. Perhaps some seniors are already attempting breakthroughs, but I must remind you all that a breakthrough now will not succeed, nor is it the optimal time. Only when you acquire power that aligns with the starry sky can you truly make a breakthrough and gain the ability to roam the starry sky."

Someone immediately asked, "How can we acquire power that aligns with the starry sky?"

Lu Ye replied, "I'm not entirely sure how to acquire it specifically, but it will likely have something to do with our own realm. On a side note, realms, like us cultivators, can grow. However, cultivators grow through various cultivation methods, while realms grow by absorbing invisible, omnipresent energy from the starry sky. So, generally speaking, every intact realm is in a state of growth. Of course, devouring the foundations of other realms is also a method, and it leads to faster growth, which is currently the situation with Kyushu. When a realm's foundation accumulates to a certain extent, heavenly insights will probably descend. At that time, you seniors will naturally know what to do."

Wuchang, sitting opposite Lu Ye, leisurely glanced at him, unsure if Lu Ye genuinely didn't know or if he knew but found it inconvenient to say explicitly.

But the answer they had received was clear enough; there was no need to probe further.

"Now, let's talk about the realms above Divine Sea." Lu Ye paused for a moment before speaking again. "Just now, I mentioned that the cultivation of us cultivators is divided into two steps: the first step is within the realm, and the second step is beyond the realm. Within the realm, the Spirit Stream, Cloud River, True Lake, and Divine Sea realms are the Lower Four Realms. As for beyond the realm, to my knowledge, there are three realms: Star, Moon, and Sun, which are the Upper Three Realms. In ancient times, these seven major realms were collectively known as the 'Lower Four, Upper Three'."

Everyone listened intently. No one asked how Lu Ye knew the realm divisions from ancient times.

As Wuchang said, heavenly insights often granted Lu Ye special knowledge. It seemed quite normal for him to know things unknown to others. It was only at this moment that a new grand door to the path of cultivation slowly opened before the Kyushu cultivators, stirring their hearts and making their blood boil.

"Ultimately, a cultivator's cultivation focuses on themselves. The cultivation of the Lower Four Realms lies in developing a cultivator's essence, qi, and spirit, and this remains true in the Upper Three Realms. The three realms of the Upper Three Realms correspond to a person's essence, qi, and spirit. For instance, the Star Realm corresponds to a person's essence, and the essence of essence is blood and qi. Strong blood and qi mean a strong physique. This aligns with the crucial point for cultivators to break out of their realm and enter the starry sky, because only with a sufficiently powerful physique are they qualified to move about in the starry sky. It is said—*hmm*, merely said—that Star Realm cultivators can even regrow limbs if they lose them."

A single statement sent the entire audience into an uproar.

Limb regeneration was truly too ethereal a concept. At the very least, current Divine Sea Realm cultivators definitely did not possess such an ability, nor were there any heavenly treasures in Kyushu with such an effect.

When cultivators fought, they often worried about suffering irreversible damage. But if limb regeneration were possible, many constraints could be ignored, and battles would undoubtedly become more dangerous.

This news was truly explosive and inspiring, especially for cultivators who had sustained injuries in battle. They couldn't help but feel a longing. If they could advance to the Star Realm, wouldn't they be able to make up for their deficiencies?

Yue Ji's leisurely voice drifted from a certain direction, "As you said, the Star Realm corresponds to a person's essence. Then the Moon Realm corresponds to a person's qi, and the Sun Realm corresponds to a person's spirit?"

"Precisely! If the Lower Four Realms are about developing a cultivator's essence, qi, and spirit, then the Upper Three Realms are about expanding and extending these. Cultivators, in the end, must cultivate themselves to the utmost."

Everyone nodded in silence. This aligned with the core principle of cultivation, which centers on the individual. This is why factions like Beast Taming and Artificers are destined not to flourish in the major schools, as they rely too heavily on external power. Of course, there are rare individuals who can reach high levels, but these are ultimately exceptions and cannot represent the entire faction.

"Then, upon reaching the Star Realm, will everyone become a body cultivator?" someone else asked.

If, as Lu Ye said, the Star Realm was about the expansion and extension of a person's essence, what meaning would other factions have?

"Naturally, it won't be that simple. As for the specific mysteries involved, and how the doctrines of various factions will be impacted during the process of advancing to higher realms, that is beyond my knowledge as a junior. You seniors will naturally understand once you ascend. However, there's one thing I do know: body cultivators are rare. Don't deceive me!"

"I would naturally not deceive the City Lord about such a matter."

History seemed to be repeating itself.

The previous celebration feast after the insect plague had ended inconclusively with Lu Ye's major revelations, and this time, there was a similar trend.

The difference was that the last celebration feast ultimately turned into a pre-war mobilization for Kyushu, while this one resembled a dharma assembly.

A dharma assembly centered around Lu Ye.

The Divine Sea Realm cultivators present, regardless of seniority, cultivation strength, or origin, had various questions about advancing to higher realms. For the next period, people continuously stepped forward to ask.

Lu Ye could only answer as best as he could. Although he had learned many things unknown to ordinary people during his chats with Little Nine, his knowledge was limited, and there were many things he couldn't answer.

Yet, no one felt anything was amiss. A celebration feast ending inconclusively was fine. For cultivators, nothing was more important than advancing to higher realms.

Now, with Kyushu's foundation increasing, cultivation for Divine Sea Realm cultivators would become easier. Who wouldn't aspire to go even further?

It wasn't until half a day later, when there were no more questions, that the Divine Sea Realm cultivators finally let Lu Ye go, probably realizing that he had exhausted all his knowledge.

Lu Ye finally got some leisure time, but the Divine Sea Realm cultivators were not idle, still discussing various future possibilities in groups of three or five.

They were particularly enthusiastic about how cultivators could acquire power that aligned with the starry sky, as Lu Ye hadn't given a clear answer on this.

The celebration feast lasted for three days and three nights, concluding amidst much excitement and anticipation.

Many cultivators dispersed, and Lu Ye returned to the main branch of the Blood Sect with his Sect Master, accompanied by Wuchang.

Lu Ye was speechless: "Senior, you've finally returned to Kyushu after so long. Why aren't you visiting old friends? Why are you following me?"

Wuchang chuckled, "At my age, I don't have many old friends left, only those old fellows at the Blood Sacred Land. I'm a lone cultivator, without sect or faction. Wherever I go, that's my home. What's wrong with visiting your Blood Sect? Are you not welcoming?"

"Welcome, welcome! How could I not welcome you?"

Lu Ye probably understood his intentions. Wuchang likely felt that by following him, he might gain more information. And as Wuchang said, within Kyushu, wherever he went was home; he had no relatives or old friends to visit. Instead of wandering, it was better to stay with Lu Ye.

And so, the Blood Sect gained a guest.

This was a good thing for the Blood Sect, as they could arrange for many disciples interested in the path of ghost cultivation to train under Wuchang.

The cultivation of Blood Sect disciples had always had an awkward point: the lack of instructors.

This was unlike other major sects, where disciples often had specialized instructors from various factions to guide and teach them. Although the Blood Sect had developed well in recent years, it had always lacked suitable instructors.

This was a common drawback for many developing sects. It wasn't that self-cultivation was impossible, but having someone guide you on the path of cultivation was always more convenient.