CHAPTER 690: 569 STAGES OF THE IMMORTAL PATH

In Shu Mountain, a person had cultivated from a common man to a Heavenly Immortal and ultimately achieved ascension. The initial practice was divided into two parts, one part was Inner Strength and the other was Outer Skills.

Inner Strength referred to internal cultivation, achieving both a marvelous form and spirit through methods like Qi Cultivation and Refining Spirit.

The phrase "using spirit to refine form produces a portion of Yang energy, and using form to refine spirit reduces a portion of Yin energy" was the method of internal cultivation, specifically the Alchemy Dao.

Outer Skills involved external cultivation, accumulating merit through acts of goodness which was not merely performing charitable deeds. More critically, it was about the tempering of one’s nature in this process, the Dual Cultivation of Life and Nature, only considered complete upon achieving Perfection.

During this process, each sect used different methods, eventually attaining different positions and accomplishments.

Some cultivated for thousands of years without practicing outer skills, failing to harmonize their nature, and their Primordial Spirit could not achieve Pure Yang, limiting their achievements to that of an Earth Immortal.

An Earth Immortal could live eternally and forever exist in the Human World.

All those who had not ascended but could live forever were Earth Immortals, including Li Jingxu.

Li Jingxu had completed the cultivation of Body Ascension, his Dao Level was "equivalent to" that of a Golden Immortal, but he was not actually a Golden Immortal, and could only be called a "Land Golden Immortal."

The three immortals from the East Sea had completed the cultivation needed for Heavenly Immortals, and were also "equivalent to" Heavenly Immortals in terms of Daoist power, but they were not truly Heavenly Immortals. However, they were more formidable than regular ascended Heavenly Immortals.

People like San Ying and Er Yun had not yet perfected the cultivation of a Heavenly Immortal, still lacking some elements for ascension, hence they were at the threshold of becoming Heavenly Immortals.

Shi Feiyang also lacked some elements; his Outer Skills were ready for ascension, and his Inner Refining was nearly complete, but he did not wish to ascend due to lingering attachments, making his cultivation both complex and extensive.

In the method of Dan, using a bright moon to symbolize the Golden Core, and using the upper and lower crescents to symbolize the cultivation of life and spirit, all immaculate and a full moon represented Pure Yang.

Shi Feiyang’s moon was much larger than others’, but it had too many embellishments, not enough to be considered flawlessly immaculate... heavier than even the slightest flaw.

After achieving Ascension of Yang God, one would leave behind a "corporeal shell."

A regular Corpse Disintegrating Immortal Nascent Soul after ascension would leave behind a "corpse."

Independent Immortals could not achieve eternal life. Every five hundred years, they faced the Four Nine Heavy Tribulations, marking the end of their lifespan and drawing upon the Primordial Qi between Heaven and Earth to induce their death.

The one thousand three hundred year tribulation faced by Earth Immortals was not targeted at a specific Earth Immortal but was a tidal tribulation that occurred every one thousand three hundred to one thousand five hundred years within the cosmos.

In the original text, a group of immortals on Xiuning Island underwent tribulation with the assistance of the Emei Sect, collectively transcending the tribulation in this manner.

In terms of cultivation achievements, Independent Immortals were inferior to Earth Immortals, Earth Immortals were inferior to Heavenly Immortals, and Heavenly Immortals were inferior to Golden Immortals.

However, when it came to fighting, it was not certain who would lose and who would win.

Independent Immortals, having the worst final achievements, could still accumulate more mana than Earth Immortals and even Heavenly Immortals through prolonged cultivation time, especially by refining a few Magical Treasures specifically tailored to counter their adversaries, thus easily achieving victory.

Up in the Immortal Mansion on Heavenly Thunder Mountain in the East Sea, there was Master Chi Zhang who, in terms of Dao Level and Technique Divine Power, was not inferior to the level of a Golden Immortal. He became a Daoist during the Tang dynasty, and contemporaries like Luo Gongyuan, Ye Fashan, and others, his disciples were Heavenly Immortals yet to ascend and his grand-disciples were long-living Earth Immortals. Every now and then, a Golden Immortal from the Spiritual Space Immortal Realm would lead some Heavenly Immortals to visit him for leisure and discourse.

Yet, his position was still that of an Earth Immortal, unable to ascend. His Primordial Spirit was also not completely perfected, still missing a crucial element. For him to completely ascend, he still had to undergo another life cycle, which meant facing the major tribulation that occurred every one thousand three hundred years.

If at this moment, Shi Feiyang sought the Heavenly Immortal Position, to ascend as a Yang God, he would need to refine his body into a discarded shell, along with the Chaos Dragon Ball, either by refining or forsaking it, and refining would cost a significant amount of time... During ascension, nothing could be taken along; everything had to be forsaken.

The Douluo Fire integrated into the top three flowers also had to be discarded, and the two Lotus incarnations as well...

Once all these were completed, and his mentality shifted to completely sever all attachments to this world, focusing solely on ascending to the Immortal Realm.

San Ying and Er Yun had long vowed to ascend to the Immortal Realm, eagerly desiring it without the numerous attachments he had, their Inner Refining of form and spirit was nearly complete. Only the Outer Skills needed sufficient accumulation and once their nature was fully matured, they could directly ascend.

From this point of view, he and San Ying and Er Yun were indeed at a similar realm.

He still needed to use the Dragon Ball to forge worlds in the future; he had to keep the Dragon Ball, body, Purple and Blue Duoluo Fire, and the two Lotus incarnations... all these items had to remain with him for ascension. To ascend in this manner, he had to follow the path of Li Jingxu’s Bodily Ascension, which meant engaging in even more tasks, each requiring significant effort and time, especially with time units counted in "jiazis," beginning from sixty years.

But now, if he was to engage in combat, even without using the Heavenly Mirror or Nine Suspicions Tripod, simply relying on his own refined Technique Divine Power, he could easily defeat San Ying and Er Yun, who were armed with various rare Magical Treasures like Purple Ying, Green Rope, and Seven Repairs, easily overpowering any one of the three old immortals ready for Heavenly Immortal ascension at any time, managing a five-to-one fight without faltering. Even if a few Heavenly Immortals "graduated" from heaven descended, they could not match him.

Deng Yin, the Blood God Child, followed another path; after his skinning practice, his Blood God incarnation could only reach the effects of a Heavenly Immortal with both marvelous shape and spirit.