Chapter 3: The Cliff's Hidden Secret
* Mountain Close to lian family *
Lian Chen's thirteenth year was a crucible of sweat and strain. In the rugged outskirts of Duskfall, he pushed his body to its limits, training tirelessly to refine his 5th-level Body Training Realm strength. His wiry frame, forged over four years, bore the scars of countless falls and the calluses of relentless effort. Yet progress stalled. His spiritual root remained a faint whisper, unable to channel energy, and his muscles ached with a plateau he couldn't break. Frustration gnawed at him as he scaled a steep cliff near the Lian Clan's borders, seeking solitude to clear his mind.
Midway up, his footing slipped. A cry escaped his lips as he plummeted, branches snapping beneath him. Desperation clawed at his chest until his fall was halted by a tangle of thorny bushes clinging to a gnarled tree. Dangling precariously, he glimpsed a shadowed crevice ahead—a cave half-concealed by tumbled rocks. His heart raced as he hauled himself toward it, curiosity outweighing fear.
With cautious hands, Lian Chen shifted the stones, revealing a narrow entrance. Inside, the air was cool and heavy with an ancient stillness. His eyes adjusted to the dimness, landing on two objects: a small bottle filled with a crimson liquid exuding a faint, oppressive pressure—blood essence, he realized, its potency tingling against his skin—and an ancient, dust-covered book inscribed with faded runes: *Devouring Method*. His breath caught. From stolen scrolls, he knew cultivation methods were ranked—Human (Yellow) Grade, divided into early, middle, and late; Mysterious; Earth; and Heaven. This *Devouring Method*, its aura suggesting a high-grade technique, promised evolution with each realm, allowing him to devour anything for self-improvement and a solid foundation. It was a treasure beyond his wildest hopes.
Sitting cross-legged, Lian Chen pieced together more of the cultivation path. Each realm had nine sub-levels, reflecting incremental power gains. He was in the **Body Training Realm**, tempering his body. Next was the
**Spiritual Practitioner Realm** (lifespan 200 years), where cultivators sensed and gathered spiritual energy into their dantian, gaining strength to fight thousands of armed soldiers, using elemental techniques and movement boosts. Beyond that lay the
**Spiritual Sea Realm**, where energy condensed into a liquid state, revealing talent through sea colors—white for weak foundations, red for moderate ones, golden sea for exceptional talent, and purple-golden sea for near-mythical potential—granting flight, vast attack ranges, and power to shatter hundreds of meters, with spiritual sea vastness ranging from 10,000 meters or more depending on talent.
**Golden Core Realm** solidified energy into a core, enabling short flights and earning masters or elders their titles, though none dwelt in Duskfall.
The **Nascent Soul Realm** (early to peak, lifespan 2000 years) birthed a soul from the core, allowing flight across thousands of miles, city-destroying attacks, and possession if the body fell, requiring mastery of domains like water or fire for the next step.
**Soul Formation Realm** (early to Great Cycle) fused domains with the nascent soul to form an Origin Soul, varying wildly in power based on heavenly comprehension.
**Soul Transformation Realm** refined the body with celestial energy into a Celestial Body, and the
**Ascension Realm** fused domain and celestial energy with the Origin Soul, hinting at realms beyond.
Trembling with excitement, Lian Chen tucked the blood essence bottle and *Devouring Method* book into his robes. The essence could strengthen his body, and the method might bypass his root's weakness, evolving with his cultivation. As he emerged, the cliff's danger faded against the fire in his mind. *This is my chance*, he thought, vowing to master these gifts and ascend the cultivation ladder step by step.
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