The elder pulled out a tea set from seemingly thin air. "Sit," he said, already pouring.
Then he introduced himself, "I am Daoist Huo Lei. You can call me Elder Huo. Who might you be, child?"
"I am Wuji. Xiao Wuji. I was an apprentice monk at a temple ever since I was left there as a baby orphan."
"I see, so it's really as I thought. Well, have you heard of immortals?" Elder Huo asked.
"Immortals? Sorry, do you mean the ones in the legends? Is that what you are? A Daoist immortal?" Xiao Wuji seemed to understand.
He had heard of immortals flying on swords, and it seemed it was true.
"I am a Daoist indeed, but not an immortal one. I cultivate in the immortal Dao, the way, so I am a cultivator or a Daoist. Hm, if you know nothing, I guess I should explain everything." The Elder sighed but didn't truly mind.
"I apologize for my ignorance. Thank you for your wisdom, Elder Huo." Wuji really wanted to know all about it.
The elder went on to explain that one needed a Dao Treasure to cultivate.
He said that there exist rumors that in ancient times, they didn't use Dao Treasures and instead had spiritual roots that allowed them to cultivate freely.
He then went on to explain the difference between Natural Dao Treasures that must be appraised by someone and resonated with using the Resonant Mantra and Baptized Dao Treasures like his flute that were usually formed upon the death of an item's owner and needed a compatible wielder to answer their calling.
These were the two existing paths to immortal cultivation.
Wuji finally understood what happened. He was simply lucky enough to be struck by the Heavenly Baptism before dying.
The elder then generously explained all of the cultivation levels he knew of:
Qi Gathering (1–9)
The beginning of all cultivation. One absorbs spiritual energy and refines gaseous spiritual qi from heaven and earth into their meridians.
Foundation Establishment (1–9)
Refining gaseous qi into liquid qi. This stage builds a solid internal foundation by transforming spiritual energy into a more condensed, potent form.
Golden Core (1–9)
Condensed liquid qi is compressed into a solid golden core in the dantian. The golden core represents the cultivator's stability and control over their internal energy.
Nascent Soul (1–9)
Once the golden core reaches full maturity, it collapses into a nascent soul—a miniature version of the cultivator formed from pure qi. This soul becomes the true seat of consciousness.
Deity Transformation (1–9)
Heaven imposes a thunder tribulation upon the nascent soul. Each tribulation refined and survived leads to another, with a total of nine thunder tribulations needed to fully temper the soul into the divine and earn the chance to ascend to the next major stage.
"After Deity Transformation, I'm not sure, but I've heard that there is a lethal tenth and final tribulation needed to break through to the next stage. I'm only at the 7th phase of the Golden Core stage, so while it's enough to be an elder in a medium-sized sect like mine, for the true powerhouses, it's not worth mentioning." Elder Huo truthfully explained everything he knew.
Wuji was enlightened. 'So there is such a vast cultivation world.'
Then he voiced a doubt that had been lingering on his mind, "As I am now, could I defeat someone at the martial peak?"
Elder Huo cackled. "Hahaha! A mere martial peak mortal is nothing in front of even a 1st Qi Gathering cultivator such as yourself. Maybe a martial Asura could have an even fight as you're still untrained. You truly haven't tapped into your true strength, have you?"
Wuji was a bit embarrassed, but he would rather ask a stupid question than be stupidly ignorant forever due to shame, "Yes, I've been starving away in that boat for over two weeks, probably."
"Oh, so you were running from a martial peak expert, I'm guessing?"
"Yes, eleven others and I. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us. It was my fault, but I can no longer go back on my choice to set sail." Wuji wasn't one to wallow, but he couldn't help putting on an incredibly sad face when he spoke. "I'm not sure if any of the monks that bought us time to escape survived, I guess I truly have no home now."
Wuji didn't think this elder that so diligently explained things to him while being so much stronger would harm him. That's why he was so open about his own vulnerability.
Elder Huo had a serious face when he heard the tale. After sipping some tea, he said, "I see, it's truly quite tragic for a child to bear such a burden. Well, since you were chosen by the heavens, you should make the most of it."
"Yes, I'll try. But what should I do to join the world of cultivation?"
"Oh, right. Let me tell you about the forces you can join."
Elder Huo explained that there were regional sects, clans, and organizations all over the place. He was from a medium-sized sect called Bamboo Valley Sect. There were also two governing forces of the cultivation world—the Elder Alliance and the United Treasure Pavilion.
The Elder Alliance governed all resource distribution and competition between regional forces. They organize periodical competitions and trade for resource and hidden realm distribution. They are governed by the strongest cultivators in the continent, the leaders of the twelve great sects.
The United Treasure Pavilion is aptly named. They are a deceptively powerful organization with widespread presence that hold a monopoly over proper appraisal and auctioning of Dao Treasures.
The rest are all regional forces like clans and sects that operate differently under the two behemoths.
Elder Huo also explained how Dao Treasures and the Resonant Mantra worked more in-depth to make sure Wuji had all the necessary common knowledge.
Dao Treasures, he said, are soulbound and cannot be stolen. They simply dissipate into a heaven and earth vision and revert to mundane objects after a cultivator's death.
If it's damaged, it's a soul injury. If it's destroyed, it dissipates your cultivation and most likely kills you or leaves you on the brink of death.
But swapping Dao Treasures is possible, surprisingly. Although it also dissipates the energy in the original Dao Treasure, just like death.
It's actually quite simple. It involves the use of the Resonant Mantra on a new Dao Treasure, which will expel the previously bound treasure and turn it into a mundane item without any Dao resonance.
Then Wuji asked what this Resonant Mantra was. He was told it is a freely distributed mantra that was developed by the earliest cultivators to be able to connect with Dao Treasures and replace the vanishing spiritual roots during the Great Change in the ancient era.
He didn't know the details of its origin, though. But Elder Huo also passed down the mantra to Wuji as it was standard cultivation knowledge.
Then, Wuji asked him about non-Dao Treasures.
He was met with a smile. Yes, there were indeed treasures that didn't resonate with the Dao.
These were called spiritual artifacts, and they were forged using spiritually rich materials of heaven and earth together with the husks of powerful Dao Treasures of cultivators that either died or changed treasure—this discipline was called artifice.
Elder Huo went along with the flow and touched upon the topic of Dao disciplines. These included were alchemy, artifice, array, talisman, and appraisal disciplines.
Alchemy involved using spiritual herbs and ingredients to produce pills and other medicines and elixirs.
Artifice involved using the husks of spent Dao Treasures and spiritual materials to forge spiritual artifacts.
Array mastery involved the channeling and guidance of the energy of heaven and earth through arrays to create various wondrous effects— Daoist arrays originated from natural array mimicry.
Talisman making involved infusing one's divine sense and qi into an arrangement written with ink to generate various wondrous effects one time or even repeatedly for more advanced talismans—it mimics arrays, but using stored personal strength instead of the energy of heaven and earth.
Lastly, appraisal involved using various skills and abilities to determine the nature of materials, Dao Treasures, and spiritual artifacts.
All of these disciplines require the use of divine sense, so the level of Foundation Establishment—when one obtains divine sense—is necessary to practice them.
Each discipline practitioner is ranked from one to five stars by the United Treasure Pavilion. These stars determine their ability within their cultivation level, so a one-star Nascent Soul alchemist may be able to refine pills of higher level when compared to a five-star Golden Core alchemist—but a five-star Golden Core would refine higher quality pills of the same level.
"I see, Elder Huo. Thank you so much once again."
"It's nothing. It's good to have someone to listen to my babbling at my age."
After the conversation seemed to somewhat conclude, a curious disciple approached.
Of course, it was a female with a blushing face, which made Elder Huo inwardly sigh.
"Elder Huo, I'm sorry to bother you, but everyone was wondering who this boy you've rescued is? Why was a cultivator lost out at sea in such a state? Did a war happen?" When she looked at Wuji, she blushed once again, which infuriated Elder Huo.
"When did I fail in my teaching? How can you girls be so awestruck by appearance when you cultivate the Dao? Sigh, Luo Bing, at least you had the courage to approach. He's Xiao Wuji. He was escaping pirates." He then looked at Wuji, ignoring the embarrassed Luo Bing, and said, "This your fellow Daoist Luo Bing, a Core Disciple of our sect at the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Greetings, fellow Daoist Luo Bing, I'm Xiao Wuji of the Qi Gathering stage." Xiao Wuji wasn't exactly used to the attention as an isolated monk, but he could easily brush off the awkwardness.
"Hi, there's no need to be so distant. You can call me Senior Sister Luo or Sister Bing." It was really awkward for Luo Bing to be called out for her blushing, but she pushed through.
"Sure then, Sister Bing. You can call me Wuji or Brother Wuji if you'd like." This made Luo Bing blush even more.
"Elder Huo, will Brother Wuji be joining the sect? He can't come with us to the hidden realm, right? It's too dangerous at the Qi Gathering stage."
"I will have to discuss it with him and the elders back in the sect. But if he wants to join, it shouldn't be a problem as he already has a Dao Treasure." He then showed a thoughtful expression before saying, "As for the hidden realm, I have to wait outside anyway. So he'll stay here with me when you go in. Speaking of which, we've delayed long enough, make sure your teleportation talismans are functional and enter, everyone!"
Luo Bing and the other disciples hastily checked their talismans and went in—no longer distracted by the mysterious pretty boy.
Elder Huo then addressed Wuji once again and asked, "So, are you interested in joining our Bamboo Valley Sect? To explain, we are a righteous sect, which means we are generally less individualistic and brutal than neutral or demonic forces. Like I said before, we're a medium-sized sect, so you should think carefully before joining. Joining a sect is no small commitment."
"I'm not sure yet. I haven't even seen anything in the cultivation world. I'm sorry if it's rude to ask, but how is the process of leaving a sect? Is it seen as taboo?" Wuji didn't know if this would offend the elder, but it's not like he was the founder, right? He decided to be honest and ask if he could leave later.
"As long as you don't jump to a rival or demonic sect—or stir up bad blood—it's fine. Unless you keep changing sects for some reason, of course. That'd be seen as odd, to say the least."
"Then do you think I can join your sect?"
"Sure, I'll even vouch for you. You can join us as an outer disciple. The disciple logic in cultivation sects and the organization of cultivation clans is actually quite similar to their equivalent in the Jianghu, so you should be familiar."
"Yes!" Wuji knew he had to climb the ranks—but the fact that there were finally ranks to climb was what thrilled him the most.