By reading the classics, Chen Lin has learned the exact realm division of cultivators.
The first few realms were the same as what he knew: Qi training, foundation building, golden elixir, Nascent Soul, and Spirit transformation.
Going further up there are Lianxu, Hedao, and Mahayana.
The last step is to overcome the tribulation and ascend to heaven.
Among them, the stage below Yuanying is the "cultivation of law", the stage above Lianxu is the "cultivation of Taoism", and the stage of Huashen is the transition from law to Taoism.
When one reaches the realm of refining emptiness, one transforms from the real to the virtual, from the 'tangible' of cultivating the physical body to the 'intangible' of cultivating spiritual consciousness. One can achieve intangibility and selflessness, and break through the void.
Theoretically speaking, this state can allow one to live forever and live as long as heaven and earth.
But in reality, they are still unable to escape the constraints of the rules of heaven and earth, and have to go through various disasters. Few can live for more than five thousand years.
The state of harmony with the Tao is the most important and also the most difficult of all states. It requires the fusion of the 'true self' and the Tao to reach the state where the Tao is me and I am the Tao.
This state is divided into three stages.
It is divided into: asking about the Tao, hearing about the Tao, and obtaining the Tao.
The gap between each stage is no weaker than a major realm, and there will be a terrible catastrophe in each stage, resulting in the fact that the few powerful Hedao masters in the Xingbei Realm today are all in the first stage of the asking period.
As for the Mahayana stage, it has reached another level.
When the Tianxuan Realm was still around, the number of cultivators at this level was very small, so no relevant classics were passed down. There were only vague records of the powerful beings at this level, who were not much different from immortals, except for the baptism of an immortal calamity to transform their magic power into immortal power.
After learning this, Chen Lin felt a yearning in his heart, but he also felt that the path to immortality was far away.
He is a mere Nascent Soul cultivator. In the lower realm, he could be considered a giant, but here he can only be considered a lower-middle level.
Although there are very few powerful people who have reached the state of Hedao in this world, there are quite a few powerful people who have reached the state of Lianxu.
The gods can be seen everywhere.
After all, the interface is vast and the size of the cultivators is extremely large.
This is because of the sudden changes in heaven and earth three thousand years ago, when evil descended from the sky and monsters arose, causing a sharp decline in the number of mortals and monks. Otherwise, the world would be several times more prosperous than it is now.
There is still no clear explanation as to the source of the evil aura, but it is suspected to be related to the destruction of the Tianxuan Realm.
"The road to immortality is long, I will search for it up and down!"
Chen Lin remained firm in his resolve and was not bothered by the difficulties and obstacles. He stood up and returned to the cave.
In order to match the time outside the tower, the nights in Black Tower City are darker than the days, but it does not affect life.
For cultivators above the foundation-building stage, day and night do not mean much. Not resting for ten days or half a month will not affect anything. Especially after reaching the golden elixir stage, it is normal to go into seclusion for several years or even dozens of years at a time.
Chen Lin also wanted to practice, but the strange energy in his body had not yet been eliminated.
The old man who issued the identity token did show him a way, but he was not yet qualified to go to the fifth floor. He had to upgrade his identity token first, and upgrading the identity token was not an easy task.
Thinking of the old man, Chen Lin couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He gave the other party three top-grade spirit stones, which was really too much. No wonder the other party felt embarrassed. In addition to the jade slip, he also provided him with such information.
Because there are a large number of cultivators in this world, and the cultivation world has not experienced any discontinuities, the spirit stone mines have basically been developed, so the rarity of spirit stones is much higher than that of the Starry Continent.
Purchasing power will naturally increase.
He made a rough comparison and found that the purchasing power of spirit stones here was more than ten times higher than that of the Starry Continent.
Because the spiritual energy here is more refined and the quality of spirit stones is better, ordinary spirit stones have reached the level of high-quality spirit stones in the Starry Continent and are also the mainstream currency here.
Generally speaking, when we talk about spirit stones, we are referring to this kind of 'ordinary spirit stone'.
Those with lower purity are called mixed spirit stones. They are not recognized and are not classified into the monetary system. They are only circulated among Qi-cultivating monks and mortals, and their value is estimated based on the amount of impurities.
However, the saying of top-grade spirit stones still exists, and the exchange ratio with ordinary spirit stones is also one to one hundred.
Spirit crystals do exist, but they are mostly monopolized by cultivators of the Void Refinement Realm. Once one reaches the Void Refinement Realm, top-grade spirit stones can no longer meet the demand, and one can only use spirit crystals.
The purchasing power of spirit stones is ten times that of the Starry Continent. Those three top-grade spirit stones are a huge sum of money, which even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot easily obtain.
Chen Lin felt a little painful. Although he had a lot of spirit stones, he couldn't waste them like this. It would also give the other party the impression that he was a fat sheep, which would bring trouble.
But once it’s taken out, it can’t be taken back.
Chen Lin shook his head, made some simple repairs, and left the cave.
Without staying in the city, he left directly.
He found a remote place, used a formation plate to set up an isolation formation, then took out a puppet for protection and entered the demon world.
He continued to move in and out quickly, bringing the grass out.
Because he was worried that Xiaocao's special situation would be discovered and lead to unknown consequences, he did not bring her with him when he entered the city, but let her into the demon world.
After investigation, they found that there were countless people practicing strange skills and special races in the tower, and there were many who were more peculiar than Xiaocao. So they decided to take Xiaocao into the city formally and obtain an identity token.
Otherwise, if you bring the other party out of the city directly without an identity token, it will trigger the monitoring mechanism of the formation. Not only will you have to explain how you entered the city, but you will also have to involve the affairs of the demon world.
The classics of this interface also contain information about the demon world, and the administrators have not explicitly prohibited monks from exploring the demon world, but they do stipulate that sacrifices, communication with evil spirits, free-range monsters, and other behaviors that may cause chaos and danger are not allowed in the city. Once discovered, they will be expelled from the city immediately, and those who cause consequences will be severely punished.
So it is better to do less than more, just act according to the rules.
"Master, let Xiaocao go into the city alone. If anything unexpected happens, you can still enter the demon world and rescue me by manifestation."
After Chen Lin put away the equipment for setting up the formation, Xiao Cao looked in the direction of the black tower and spoke.
Chen Lin smiled and said, "The little girl has grown up and has learned to think independently, which is good."
He knew that the other party was concerned about his safety and that this was indeed the best option, so he nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked one after the other, and while Xiaocao was brought into the room for testing, he quietly observed from a distance.
Nothing unexpected happened. Xiaocao came out quickly and walked into the city gate with the token.
Chen Lin waited for a while and followed the crowd into the city.
After the two of them reunited, they did not return to the cave, but went to the market on the third floor.
There is a market on each of the first three floors of the Black Tower.
Although the managers did not impose any restrictions on the first three floors, unspoken rules have been formed. The first floor is mostly where mortals and Qi-cultivating monks gather, while the second floor is mostly where foundation-building practitioners gather.
Jindan and Yuanying cultivators are basically on the third level.
In addition, mortals do not have to pay residence fees, but they must obey the arrangements of the managers and do some work that monks are unwilling to do. They are considered inferior people.
Of course, if you can pay for your own living expenses, you can also enjoy normal treatment.
"Friend Zhao, have you found out the information I want?"
Chen Lin came to a store called Zhao's Trading Company and asked with a smile to the middle-aged man sitting inside.
This person was Zhao Jiuzhou whom I met in the wild before. He was also the patriarch of a small family and ran three shops, one on each of the three lower floors.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Chen. You came at the right time. I just got the information you wanted from the captain of a hunting team, but it's not detailed."
"oh?"
Chen Lin's eyes lit up, and he asked hurriedly, "Which aspect? Tell me about it."
Zhao Jiuzhou walked closer with a smile and said, "There are a lot of people outside, let's go inside and talk. I just happened to have purchased some top-quality spiritual tea, so you can also take advantage of it."
"Really? Thank you very much!"
Chen Lin didn't hesitate and followed Xiao Cao into the room.
After the host and the guest sat down, Zhao Jiuzhou personally brewed tea while glancing at Xiao Cao and said, "This fellow Taoist doesn't seem to be practicing in the traditional way, and his sword intent is sharp. Could he be a pure swordsman with natural talent?"
Xiaocao didn't say anything, nor did she even sit down. She just stood quietly beside Chen Lin.
This made Zhao Jiuzhou look strange.
The purity of the sword intent in the girl's body was something he had never seen in his life. She must have a natural talent like an innate sword body. Such qualifications would be the focus of training in any family or sect. Even if she was a casual cultivator, she would be sought after by any sect. But she looked like the maid of Fellow Daoist Chen.
This made him curious about Chen Lin's identity.
Seeing this, Chen Lin said apologetically, "I am not familiar with worldly affairs and rarely interact with people. I hope that Brother Zhao will forgive me for my rudeness."
After that, she continued to explain: "Fellow Daoist Zhao is right. I do specialize in swordsmanship and have not dabbled in any other areas."
Since the other party regarded Xiaocao as a talented swordsman, he didn't need to make up an excuse.
"Haha, that's fine. Sword cultivators all focus on feeding the sword. Only in this way can they achieve unity between man and sword. If one's mind is too distracted, it will be difficult to achieve great things."
As a businessman, Zhao Jiuzhou would naturally not bother with a little girl and affect the relationship between him and Chen Lin.
At this time, the spiritual tea was brewed, and he poured a cup for Chen Lin and Xiao Cao respectively.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, please try it. The environment is getting worse day by day. In this Northern Wilderness Continent, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain such top-quality spiritual tea."
Chen Lin picked up the teacup and drank it all.
He was not worried that the other party would tamper with the tea. The two of them had no conflict of interest at all, let alone any hatred. Moreover, when they reached the Nascent Soul stage, ordinary poisons were no longer effective.
“Good tea!”
As soon as the tea goes down the throat, a wonderful flavor fills the whole body, making people feel relaxed and happy, leaving a lingering fragrance on their lips and teeth, and even the suppressed magic power in the body becomes a little active.
He couldn't help but praise it.