Cultivation Realms (2)

In the end, when all the Qi inside the dantian has been refined it was time to once again increase the amount. This was called 'Foundation Strengthening' and it would continue until the dantian was completely filled with Qi.

During this time it wasn't as simple as just absorbing Qi. It had to be directly refined with the cultivation technique or it could lead to instabilities in the foundation because of impurities.

The 'Foundation Strengthening' realm was also a realm where the natural talent had a huge impact on the results and the progress speed. The dantian was something seemingly intangible and its size could vary from person to person. The larger it was the more refined Qi would be necessary to fill it completely up and take the next step.

And while a larger dantian meant that the cultivator would have a larger reservoir of Qi available, thus increasing the stamina during fights, it also meant that it would take longer to advance. The common view was that there had to be a balance between dantian size and Qi absorption speed. A balance that basically meant that the size of a dantian should be as large as the Qi absorption speed allowed.

People with a low absorption speed should also have a smaller dantian, while those with a higher absorption speed should have a larger dantian.

The combination of these two factors determines the talent.

After having finished filling up the dantian came the next step. A step that was of huge importance, so one should only try it after having truly finished the ones before. While it wasn't really possible to fail in the steps before, as long as one had even the slightest talent, it was different for the 'Core Formation' realm.

While the name might suggest that the whole realm focused on forming a core, in truth, forming the core was the step one had to tale to enter this realm. The rest was more of an initial strengthening of the core.

To form the core, the Qi inside the dantian had to be compressed until it reached a solid form. This form would usually be round and look like a ball, but there were also other forms, which would be the result of special circumstances. During this progress, if the Qi wasn't pure enough the core could shatter. This was a form of failure that would result in one forever failing to enter the 'Core Formation' realm, making it a huge deal.

After the core had been formed correctly, it could then be put into rotation, drastically speeding up the Qi absorption speed of the cultivator. This effect was useful for battle as well as cultivation.

During the rest of the realm, the core would then be further stabilized and reinforced.

After having reached a certain amount of stability it was then possible to carve runes onto the surface of the core. This could further strengthen the core and was the focus of the 'Core Strengthening' Realm.

Each core would have a different capacity for runes, depending on the purity of the Qi used to form it, the amount of Qi used, and other factors.

After the core was fully carved with runes, it was time for the last major step in the foundation part. The forming of the nascent soul, to enter the 'Nascent Soul Forming' realm. To enter the realm, it was necessary to use Qi extracted from the core to form a small nascent soul seed.

During this progress, there were two main sources of failure. One was that the core was destabilized by pulling out too much Qi, which in the worst case could result in it shattering and one's cultivation regressing to the 'Foundation Strengthening' realm. And the other was the seed not forming, something that would result in the cultivator not being able to enter the 'Nascent Soul Forming' realm.

The second failure was more forgiving since it was possible to repeat the attempts. Of course, each attempt would permanently consume Qi form the core, thus weakening it. So it might be necessary to reinforce the core between attempts.

After one had managed to form the nascent soul seed it was required to slowly nurture it. Form a seed into a baby into a child and finally into one's mirror image. After one had reached this stage, one would have reached the end of the 'Nascent Soul Forming' realm and one could begin to strengthen the nascent soul, resulting in entering the 'Nascent Soul Strengthening' realm. A realm, that was the last of the foundation and also the last, which had detailed information contained inside the crystal card, Ivan had gotten from the library.

There was also some information about the nascent soul and its uses. The nascent soul was basically a second you, that couldn't leave the dantian. But it could cultivate and work on improving Qi. It was also capable of training skills, which would be synchronized with oneself. Basically it was like getting a second you, with slightly limited capabilities.

Reading through the description of it, Ivan found it extremely similar to his 'Soul Divison', skill. Both practically provided one with a second you, that could fulfill certain tasks. It was just that 'Soul Division' seemed to work in a slightly different way, since it used the soul as the basis, while the nascent soul only contained Qi and awareness.

He currently wasn't capable of determining which one was more useful, but his gut feeling told him that it was the 'Soul Division' skill.

Now that he had gotten a good overview of the cultivation realms, he turned his focus onto other things. Such as the general geography around the sect and other general information. He was still browsing through the general information, reading whatever interested him, when a delicious smell wafted into the garden.

The scent made him aware of the fact, that it had already become evening. Looking at the time it wasn't hard to guess that it had been Clara who had cooked and thus created the delicious smell.

"It seems like she is a great cook.", Ivan muttered to himself.

Following the delicious scent, he entered his room and as expected, his table was filled with food. When he entered, Clara was just carrying over the last bit.

"You are here, Master. Come and please enjoy the meal.", she told him respectfully.

She didn't have to say it twice since she had barely finished speaking when Ivan had already sat down on the table. Eating delicious food was something he really loved. And judging by the smell, this food should be very delicious.

"Today I made ...", Clara started to introduce the food she had made, when Ivan interrupted her, "Don't tell me. It is more fun to try it out." He then pointed towards the seat opposite to him, "Come sit down and eat."

Since he had already told her about eating together in the morning, she had already prepared a set of tableware for herself. Not willing or motivated to go against him, she sat down as well and both of them started eating.

The taste of the food was just as the smell promised, delicious. He fully focused on enjoying the taste of the food, even ignoring the weak energy that appeared inside him, when he ate it.

She had prepared a lot of food since she was unsure of his preferences and even with their healthy appetite, they were unable to finish it all. Ivan too wasn't choosy and he tasted everything she had prepared, finding everything delicious.

"Wow, this was awesome.", he said, while patting his full stomach.

"Thank you."

"What are you going to do with rest?"

"Usually the servants will get the leftovers.", she explained. She too had leaned back satisfied. She had eaten even more than him and it was clearly visible that she had relaxed the way she acted around him.

"So the servants only get to eat leftovers?"

"Not really. Everyone is always happy if there are leftovers. After all the food for the disciples is made of better quality materials. You should have felt some energy entering you when eating right?"

Although he had ignored the fact, Ivan had still felt it, so he nodded.

"This energy is a result of the materials used. All of them contain energy and are of a completely different tier than usual ingredients. And these ingredients are only used for the disciple's food since they are much more expensive than normal ones."

"Oh, so the leftovers also contain energy which is beneficial for the servants as well.", Ivan understood where she was going.

"Correct. This makes the leftovers extremely desirable. "

Ivan looked at the large spread of dishes on the table and asked, "Then is there a problem with you cooking so many different dishes?" After all, these dishes should have used up a lot of ingredients.

She shook her head, "Not at all. Each disciple has a certain amount of ingredients available each month and with you only staying for a short time, there is no problem with wasting some."