Entering the Path of Immortality Translator: Xzy
***
A cultivator's cultivation realms are divided with extreme strictness.
This is because an insurmountable difference in ability exists between each realm.
Naturally, such a difference in ability is not given for free. Each realm has its own ordeal to overcome and a task to strive for to reach the next. Very arduous, very time-consuming, and very difficult.
Spiritual Energy resonance could also be seen as one of those gateways.
Anyone would be astonished if they knew how many people had been weeded out at this very first gateway in the long history of the cultivation world.
And yet.
Before even a few hours had passed, Han Yu-jin succeeded in feeling Spiritual Energy!
At first, he wondered if it was a delusion.
But the more he instinctively focused on the feeling, the more the faint sensation became distinct, as if waking from sleep, and a shiver ran down his spine.
Clear and dense Spiritual Energy was everywhere, so much so that he wondered why on earth he hadn't noticed it before.
Once he realized it, it was a sensation that was impossible to ignore.
It seemed to have mass, yet it did not. It felt cool or perhaps warm, but it had no actual temperature. It felt like it could be pulled and kneaded like something soft, but in truth, it had no texture.
With every breath, he felt the illusion of suffocating as the rich Spiritual Energy was drawn in, yet it wasn't bothersome at all; instead, it spread through his lungs to every corner of his body, and he became ecstatic from the refreshing feeling, as if it were washing away all his fatigue.
A certain Hunter had once described the moment of first feeling Mana as a 'baptism'. Although there were differences in when one would come to feel Mana depending on their awakened ability, most Hunters tended to agree with that expression.
And now, Han Yu-jin could also agree with that expression quite intensely.
Just as the baptism in a religious ceremony held the meaning of washing away sins, this baptism provided the sensation of washing away all of a person's impurities.
'Now, I am an Entry Stage Cultivator.'
A cultivator's realms began with the Entry Stage, then progressed to the Dharma Soul Stage, Core Formation Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Spirit Transformation Stage, Body Integration Stage, Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and True Immortal Stage.
The most important piece of information to look at right now was how to ascend to the Dharma Soul Stage.
This was because, in his current state, it was a bit ambiguous to call him a true cultivator.
The most important task of the Entry Stage was to sublimate the soul into a Dharma Soul.
Only upon completing that could one finally ascend to the Dharma Soul Stage and be considered a true cultivator who could handle Dharma Power at will.
Of course.
That didn't mean that an Entry Stage cultivator was the same as an ordinary person at all.
Han Yu-jin raised his hand with his palm facing upwards, with the feeling of pulling and gathering the surrounding Spiritual Energy.
In response to this action imbued with his will, the surrounding Spiritual Energy truly did gather slowly and materialize into the shape of a sphere.
It was invisible to the eye, yet it was as clear as if it were visible.
As Han Yu-jin looked at the sphere, which felt as if it possessed an indescribable color, he soon drew one of the basic Dharma scripts he knew and floated it slightly higher.
Fwoosh-!
Just like that, a streak of fire appeared from the empty air and flickered wildly.
The heat of that vivid flame could not have been more delightful.
He had just caused a supernatural phenomenon for the first time in his life!
"Hahahaha…!"
A low laugh escaped him on its own. If this had been a safe zone, he might have laughed maniacally like a madman.
He had only created a single ball of fire, yet a sense of omnipotence welled up in him as if he had become a god.
It was probably due to the brilliant hope that he could become even greater in the future.
Filled with excitement, he extinguished the ball of fire and waved both hands around him.
The Spiritual Energy responded, and a sudden gust of wind raged, scattering the dry leaves he had painstakingly laid down in his shelter and making a mess in an instant.
"Ack…! Cough…!"
Han Yu-jin, who had inhaled the dust and debris, coughed and hurriedly calmed the chaos.
The fact that the inside of the shelter quickly became quiet when he used Spiritual Energy to do so was truly strange and amazing.
Anyway,
Thanks to that, he was able to calm down. He sat in the now-quiet shelter, composed his mind, and thought.
'If all I can do is handle Spiritual Energy, I'm no different from a regular Hunter.'
No, it wasn't just that; it was insufficient.
This was because his awakened ability couldn't be used directly for things like combat.
Therefore, he now had to prepare for the full-fledged sublimation of his Dharma Soul.
Closing his eyes and concentrating, he recited the Origin Reversion Art's Dharma method in his mind while breathing deeply.
Breathing was the easiest means for a cultivator to take Spiritual Energy into their body.
The Spiritual Energy that entered his body through breathing this time did not spread haphazardly as before but began to trace a fixed path.
It wasn't just simply tracing a path. A Dharma method was a way and an order of drawing a Dharma script, and a Dharma script was in itself a crystal of mystery containing wondrous effects.
That was precisely how it trained and improved a cultivator's body and soul.
In short, cultivating an art was not the act of accumulating external energy somewhere in the body, as seen in other genre novels.
'It's meaningless.'
No matter how hard one accumulated it like that, it would simply disappear as it was consumed. Ultimately, it was because it was nothing more than an external resource.
'The soul can generate Spiritual Energy on its own.'
That was his true power.
The more one used it, the more one trained it, the more Spiritual Energy the soul could generate, faster and more efficiently.
Just as one could exert stronger power more explosively and for longer by exercising diligently.
And just as you need a lot of food and various exercise equipment when working out, you also need abundant external Spiritual Energy and a good Dharma method when training the soul.
'It's the same when recovering after exerting a lot of power.'
If you don't eat and rest properly, your muscles won't grow no matter how correctly you used the best exercise equipment.
On the contrary, the overworked body can break down.
The soul was the same.
If one had used up their Dharma Power, it was necessary to nourish and care for it with external Spiritual Energy. Only then would it be trained without becoming weak.
It was natural for him to be clumsy since it was his first time, but still, Han Yu-jin continued to cultivate the Origin Reversion Art diligently without wavering much.
It was right here that the subtle wonders of the Origin Reversion Art were revealed.
It was truly a cultivation art for beginners.
Minor mistakes were rendered completely harmless, and while it paid such attention to safety, the speed at which it trained the body and soul was not slow.
The Dharma spells, of which every cultivation art had at least two, were also quite decent.
No, when looking at it purely from a cultivation standpoint, it couldn't get any better than this.
One was the 'Purification Spell', which could wash away all pollution and impure energy, and the other was the 'Mind Calming Spell', which could prevent mental wavering and improve concentration.
This was the very reason why the common 'Cleaning Spell' wasn't included among the Dharma spellbooks he had harvested from the library. It was because the Purification Spell was a spell of a higher grade.
This was especially true in that it could even dissolve impurities within the body. And it went without saying about the concentration-enhancing effect of the Mind Calming Spell.
Above all, its greatest advantage was that it was designed so that there would be no loss no matter what Dharma method one converted to later.
Thanks to this, he could focus solely on cultivation without any worries or concerns.
At this moment, he even forgot about the external situation and didn't even stir, like a stone statue.
<><><>
When he opened his eyes, it was the middle of the night, dark as pitch all around.
It was the first night he had faced in the middle of a deep, primeval forest.
Even though he had become an Entry Stage Cultivator, he was a little nervous since there wasn't a single Dharma spell he could use.
'To think I could concentrate this much.'
There were the chirping of insects from nearby, the faint calls of mountain birds from a distance, and even farther away, the howling and roaring of an unidentifiable beast.
For now, since his vision was completely dark, his tension wouldn't ease.
Naturally, what was needed in this situation was not the act of lighting a fire, but the Spirit Eye Spell that could see through the darkness.
Who would recklessly light a fire, knowing what kind of beast it might attract? This was not the safe Earth.
He calmed his mind and heightened his concentration with the Mind Calming Spell included in the Origin Reversion Art.
Then, following the knowledge in his head, he carefully focused his Dharma Power into his eyes.
It was just a basic Dharma spell, and the Dharma script used was not particularly dangerous, but he was incredibly tense because the eyes were such sensitive and important organs.
Fortunately, his tension and worries were for naught, as he was able to succeed quickly.
'Oh…'
As it was his first attempt, it seemed to have activated somewhat incompletely, but that alone was enough to clear his completely dark vision.
It wasn't bright enough to look like daytime, but it was more than enough to survey his surroundings.
'So this is the power of a Dharma spell.'
It wasn't just that he could see through the darkness. He could even roughly gauge the concentration of Spiritual Energy contained within each object at a glance.
If there had been a ghost-like existence nearby, its location and form would have been clearly visible.
As he was thinking that, it suddenly occurred to him that his current state might be very visible to some dangerous creatures.
Since he had just entered the Path of Immortality and started cultivating an art, wouldn't there be a corresponding aura?
'I should learn the Shadow Hiding Spell first.'
It is said that the most important skills for survival are, first, not being noticed, and second, running away well.
Hitting well and blocking well were inevitably pushed back in the order of priority. The act of fighting itself was accompanied by great danger, after all.
The primeval forest survival that had felt a bit daunting began to feel like an exciting game due to the existence of the Dharma spells.
Just as he was concentrating and trying to cast the Shadow Hiding Spell.
Rustle-
An alien noise, distinctly different from the sounds he had been hearing from outside until now, was made. It was quite close, and for a moment, goosebumps ran all over Han Yu-jin's skin.
His hand reflexively grabbed the Five Elements Sword at his waist. At the same time, he had a regret.
'If I became able to handle Spiritual Energy, I should have tested this Dharma artifact first…!'
At the very least, if he had learned the Shadow Hiding Spell first, the option of staying still and holding his breath would have existed.
He shouldn't have foolishly started cultivating the Origin Reversion Art just because he was happy.
Feeling a cold sweat break out, he tightly gripped the edgeless Five Elements Sword and watched the entrance of his shelter.
The rock that was roughly blocking the entrance couldn't have looked more flimsy. When he first got it, he thought it would be good enough, but now he felt like punching his past, complacent self.
He knew that even if he died, he would just wake up in reality, but that didn't mean it was okay to die recklessly.
The pain was real, after all.
Clatter-!
At that very moment, the rock blocking the entrance shook violently. He was startled because he hadn't heard any sound of it approaching right in front of him.
What he glimpsed above the rock through the Spirit Eye Spell was the paw of a pitch-black beast.
'I've really been found!'
As shock and lamentation swirled through his mind.
Making a mockery of his memory of having struggled to move it, the rock flew backward and disappeared.
Then, what appeared in the hole leading outside was the face of a beast that looked like a monkey, its bright yellow eyes gleaming.
It met eyes with Han Yu-jin, who was gripping the Five Elements Sword tightly, and gave him a grotesque smile.
The claws at the ends of the hand it was extending inward looked terrifyingly tough and sharp.
At that very moment, Han Yu-jin thrust out the Five Elements Sword, pouring his Dharma Power into it for dear life.
The poured-in Dharma Power awakened the function of the 'mid-to-high-grade Dharma artifact', the Five Elements Sword.
On the surface of what had been just a club in the shape of an edgeless sword, intricate Dharma script restrictions surfaced and resonated, and the light flowing from them instantly transformed into scorching flames and shot forward.
There was no explosion whatsoever.
As if it were an illusion, a tremendous amount of heat surged forth and pierced through the head of the monkey-like beast along the trajectory he had thrust.
And then it spread out behind it like the ribs of a fan, turning everything it touched into a pile of ash.
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