Chapter 1957: The Heavenly Cultivation Levels

"Huh?" Xue Gan looked bewildered.

"I asked you how much power you used, and you're talking about math, decimals... What on earth? And what's 'infinite loop'?"

Unable to bear it any longer, he transformed into countless specks of light and vanished. Even as he disappeared, he was utterly bewildered.

Silence fell over the surroundings, and everyone's eyebrows twitched. Clearly, everyone believed that Tianya wasn't telling the truth but was merely toying with his opponent. Otherwise, no matter how precise one's power control was, it couldn't possibly be measured to a decimal point, could it? And "infinite loop"... What nonsense! Can you be more reliable?

Seeing everyone's reaction, Xue Qin's face completely changed with fright. It was acceptable that Senior Brother Huo Jianghe couldn't withstand it; after all, he was still young, and his strength lay in his potential and future! But Father... as a city lord, his cultivation had already reached the early Fourth Layer of Ancient Sage, and his comprehension of cultivation had long been perfected. Under such circumstances, he couldn't even defeat this Tianya at the same level...

Where did this guy come from? How could he be so strong? If Starlight City truly had such a person, they would surely have made a name for themselves by now!

"Worst case, I just won't enter for a while. If he really dares to cause trouble at the City Lord's Mansion, then he'll face the consequences..." Xue Qin snorted, clenching her fists. Servant or not, as long as she didn't enter the Hall of Divinity, what could he do to her? If he dared to come to the City Lord's Mansion and reveal his true form, she could kill him in minutes!

Thinking this, she breathed a sigh of relief and moved her consciousness. With a flash of light, her figure vanished, and she completely left.

"Even telling the truth doesn't work..." Seeing the expressions on Xue Gan and the others' faces, Zhang Xuan knew that what he had just said was useless, and he shook his head helplessly. He had only used one-sixth of his power; to be precise, it was exactly 1.66%... "They want to know how much power I used, but when I tell them precisely, they don't believe me... It's hard to be a good person!"

He stepped off the platform, destroyed the item indicating his specific location, and returned to the front desk, handing over his Divine Access Card. Inside, there were indeed 600,000 Divine Coins (he had won 500,000 from the bet, and Huo Jianghe and Xue Gan each had a weapon worth 50,000).

After exchanging them for a storage ring, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to leave, Yun Feiyang, whom he had previously defeated, came up to him with an invitation in his hand.

"Senior Tianya, Elder Lu wishes to speak with you privately. Is now a convenient time?"

"Elder Lu?" Since the other party was from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, wouldn't this Elder Lu be an elder of the Sword Pavilion?

"Alright!" Considering this, Zhang Xuan nodded without much hesitation. As one of the six major powers of the Firmament, anyone who could become an elder must be extraordinary and possess a great deal of information. This was a good opportunity to learn more about the Firmament and inquire about the Spirit God Palace. Back in the Spirit Tribe, when they sacrificed to summon the Spirit God, a powerful being appeared and said that Luo Ruoxi was in the Spirit God Palace! If he could find this place, he should be able to find her.

Following Yun Feiyang, he soon arrived at a private room. The Hall of Divinity could not only host duels but also provide special secluded areas for people to converse without disturbance. Anything spoken here would not be leaked to the outside world; it offered absolute privacy.

Inside the room, an old man sat in the center, while several individuals Zhang Xuan had previously defeated stood awkwardly to one side. "One Glance River," Huo Jianghe, had by now acquired a new Divine Access Jade Token and re-entered the system.

"I am Lu Yun, an Outer Elder of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion!" Seeing him enter, Elder Lu Yun greeted him and stood up to introduce himself.

"Greetings, Elder Lu!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and introduced himself, "I am Tianya!" The elder's purpose was unclear, so Zhang Xuan didn't want to reveal his identity yet. While his strength was formidable within the Hall of Divinity, in reality, his early Fourth Layer Ancient Sage cultivation would only command respect in Xuanjiang City. If he were to enter Starlight City, there was no telling how many powerful experts could easily defeat him.

"Don't be so reserved!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan had used his alias instead of his real name, indicating some lingering caution, Elder Lu Yun didn't mind. He smiled and said, "I've watched the recordings of your duels with them. Your comprehension of swordsmanship has reached a masterful level... However, it's the same with any cultivation technique: to advance further once you reach such a stage, you often need inherited knowledge and resources. As a lone cultivator, this is incredibly difficult to achieve... Might you be interested in joining the Lingyun Sword Pavilion?"

From Zhang Xuan's swordsmanship, Elder Lu Yun could tell he was decisive, so he didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose.

"Join the Sword Pavilion?" Zhang Xuan was slightly puzzled, having expected to be reprimanded, not invited to join.

"Huo Jianghe and Xue Gan were no match for you at the same level. With such talent and ability, you could directly apply for a core disciple spot upon entering the sect! Here, you can learn more profound sword arts, and with more disciples to spar and train with, your progress will certainly be much faster!" Elder Lu Yun explained. Since Zhang Xuan could easily defeat even their Senior Outer Disciple, he already qualified for inner sect admission.

"I... I'll need to consider this!" Zhang Xuan didn't agree immediately. His purpose in coming to the Firmament was to find Luo Ruoxi; he had little interest in joining a sect.

"This is a major decision, and it certainly requires consideration..." Elder Lu Yun nodded, not pressing the issue.

"Elder Lu, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, if it's convenient!" Zhang Xuan shifted the topic and looked at him.

"Please, speak!"

"Have you... perhaps heard of a place called the Spirit God Palace?" Zhang Xuan was slightly tense.

"Spirit God Palace?" Elder Lu Yun paused, then shook his head. "I've never heard of it!"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

"I am merely an Outer Elder of the Sword Pavilion; my usual duty is teaching students, so I don't know much about other matters on the continent... The sect has books specifically detailing the various factions and power divisions on the continent. As long as your status is sufficient, you can browse them freely! You should be able to find what you're looking for there..." Elder Lu Yun gave a wry smile. Although he was called an Elder of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, in reality, he was only of the lowest rank and not qualified to know more. The Spirit God Palace Zhang Xuan mentioned, given that it contained the word "God," must involve extremely high-level matters, beyond his scope of knowledge.

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan suddenly understood. Right, an elder responsible for recruiting handyman disciples and outer disciples probably wouldn't know. Otherwise, even the "Spirit God" that was summoned back then wouldn't have remained silent.

"Coincidentally, I have another question regarding cultivation. Cultivators are divided into Saint Realm, Grand Sage, and Ancient Sage... I wonder, what realms exist beyond Ancient Sage?" Zhang Xuan continued to ask.

"The highest realm of Ancient Sage is 'Shattering the Void.' Beyond that realm is the 'Virtual Immortal Realm'! In this state, one's thoughts are clear, and the soul is like pure gold, unharmed by fire. I am currently in the Virtual Immortal Realm, and the City Lord of Starlight City is also at the same level. Virtual Immortals are further divided into four levels: early, middle, late, and pinnacle. Surpassing this level leads to the 'True Immortal' realm! Reaching True Immortal means you are considered a true master throughout the entire Abandoned Continent. The inner elders of our sect are at this level. Beyond that is the 'Immortal Monarch Realm,' the Monarch of Immortals... Only the core elders of the Sword Pavilion possess such power!"

At this point, Elder Lu Yun sighed and continued, "These are all the realms I know. There are certainly higher ones, but they are beyond my reach... Cultivation has no end. To progress faster and go further without the support of a sect, without sufficient cultivation techniques and experience, it's incredibly difficult! It's like how regular disciples would already know this information, yet you need to ask."

"Ancient Sage, Virtual Immortal, True Immortal, Immortal Monarch..." Zhang Xuan nodded, committing these four realms to memory.

"With your swordsmanship and my recommendation, entering the inner sect would be effortless. I wonder... where are you located now? If not, we could meet in person to discuss further!" Elder Lu Yun continued. Any further discussion here would be theoretical; he needed to meet Zhang Xuan in person to ascertain his true strength, whether he was male or female, or even a sacred beast or immortal beast!

"I am in Xuanjiang City... If Elder Lu comes, we shall certainly meet! Also, I might have something that requires Senior Brother Huo's assistance!" Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

"Xuanjiang City?" Elder Lu Yun glanced at Huo Jianghe, who was also clearly bewildered. When did such a powerful expert appear in such a backward place?

"As long as it's within my ability, please feel free to speak!" Huo Jianghe clasped his fist.

"It's like this..." Zhang Xuan quickly explained a matter. After finishing, he clasped his fist and bowed. "I'll leave this matter to Senior Brother Huo. I won't trouble you any further now; please excuse me!"

Having extended his goodwill and finished asking what he wanted to know, Zhang Xuan did not linger.

Returning to the front desk, he found a staff member. "Do you have any medicine or treasures here that can quickly restore power?"

"We have low-grade Immortal Essence Pills for sale, 100,000 Divine Coins per pill!" The staff member replied.

"Low-grade? And it costs 100,000 Divine Coins?" Zhang Xuan gasped. After inquiring, he finally understood. Immortal Essence Pills were the hard currency for cultivators' transactions, just like spirit stones in the Master Teacher Continent. They were divided into four grades: low, mid, high, and supreme. Low-grade Immortal Essence Pills had great efficacy for cultivators below the Virtual Immortal realm. Mid-grade corresponded to True Immortals, and high-grade to Immortal Monarchs! As for supreme-grade, such pills were exceedingly rare and sought after but rarely seen.

A single low-grade pill cost 100,000. He had thought he earned a lot earlier, but now it seemed it still wasn't enough. He used his remaining money to purchase one, then looked back with some curiosity.

"The Hall of Divinity can sell various items. Can it also sell cultivation techniques and the like?"

"Of course!" The staff member nodded. "However, these are general continental techniques or unclaimed ones. We do not have the core cultivation arts of the six major sects!" The six major sects each possessed their unique secret techniques, which could not be leaked. Even if the Hall of Divinity knew them, they wouldn't dare to sell them. The six major sects might allow people to duel and cultivate within the Hall, but if their foundational secrets were truly compromised, they would only retaliate with destruction. It was precisely for this reason that the Hall of Divinity had coexisted peacefully with them for so many years. It was by upholding this bottom line and principle.

"I understand. General and unclaimed cultivation techniques are fine... If I don't buy them, but only view them for a very short period, how much would that cost?" Feeling a little excited, Zhang Xuan inquired. Although he had broken through to the early stage of the Shattering the Void realm, he didn't possess any cultivation techniques for this realm, let alone for Virtual Immortal, True Immortal, or Immortal Monarch... If he could purchase the cultivation techniques and had enough Immortal Essence Pills, he could potentially break through to the highest realm within a few hours. With that strength, finding news of Luo Ruoxi would surely become much simpler.

"The price varies depending on the cultivation level. For Shattering the Void realm techniques, the most common ones are about 50,000 per book. They are usually purchased; there's no option to simply view them..." The staff member shook his head.

"50,000 per book? And that's for the most common ones?" Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. He had thought they would be cheap enough to buy a large quantity, but he didn't expect the price to be so "delightful." 50,000 per book... and for the most common ones. A single cultivation session would require thousands of books. Even if he earned money solely from dueling, he would die of exhaustion on the platform before he could make enough! Moreover, he had already "harvested" one batch of "leeks" (easy targets); he had no idea when the next batch would appear.

It seemed buying books to gather cultivation techniques was somewhat unrealistic. "Could it be... I really have to join a sect?" Zhang Xuan rubbed his brow, filled with helplessness.