Chương 32: The Difference of Realm

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the garden pavilion of his courtyard, analyzing his body. Hah, my body is growing faster and faster. Around two weeks had passed since he broke through to the third level of Qi Condensation and the meeting with Deputy Master Yu. An Elder of the Inner Court was to accompany him towards the sect's main ground, but there wasn't anyone set to journey towards the Inner Court at this time. This was only natural.

An Outer Court Disciple, or even an Outer Court Elder, did not have the required status to transport and indoctrinate a newly Inner Court Disciple. And the Dao Masters of the sect were naturally occupied with their business; thus Lin Yi could only wait. However, he had no objections to this. In the transitional period, he was freed of any Outer Court sect assignments; thus, he could familiarize himself with his new cultivation level and prepare for the departure. And this he did.

Lin Yi, in the Golden Cauldron Stage, cultivated a perfect foundation, meaning he skipped Minor Completion, the second level, and jumped directly to the third level, and thus Grand Completion. This didn't mean he didn't gain the benefits from either level. The 12 Standard Meridians mainly strengthened, regulated, and targeted the basic bodily and mental functions. This he had already partially experienced when he had formed the Kidney and Heart Meridians' Qi circulation.

The 8 Extraordinary Meridians had the same effect, but much deeper and throughout. The eight meridians could influence genetic and structural conditions, as well as deep psychological blueprints and problems. Under the bodily part, naturally, fell childhood development as well. The longevity yang qi of the Locking Yang Nourishing Art had already influenced his body towards its prime age, and now, with the support of the third level of Qi Condensation, this push was even stronger.

Lin Yi's senses looked over his body, both internal and external, and compared its state to that of the past two weeks. Back then, his body was around the age of thirteen, more than four years older than it would have been at his natural growth rate. Now, in mere two weeks, his body matured beyond the age of sixteen. The mysteries of the immortal dao and the cultivation path are truly wondrous. He thought, amazed.

According to his calculations, in about one month he would reach the prime age of his body, around his early twenties. He, a mere eight-year-old boy in chronological time, would have the looks of an adult.

"Hahh!" Lin Yi couldn't help but exclaim aloud. But this growth cycle among cultivators also explained why he never saw a young-looking senior disciple. Each of them was in the mid stage and had already undergone their cultivation growth surge, or, in the case of the lesser-talented ones, never needed it. He checked the time through his sect plate. It was still the morning of the new day, but today was different than the days in the last two weeks.

Today, an Elder would return to the Inner Court and take Lin Yi with him. For that, he naturally had prepared everything beforehand. He packed anything he needed into his storage pouch and was only waiting for the elder to arrive. Lin Yi and Xiao Jinse rested before the courtyard entrance when they noticed a flying boat arriving from afar. Though this time, Lin Yi sensed that the treasure was different, and the next moments only confirmed his nudge.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. In seconds, the flying ship traveled, from what he could estimate, a distance of a few kilometers. It transformed from a distant silhouette into a large boat, dozens of meters long. Before the duo could even properly react, the flying treasure already arrived before them. On top of the boat stood a young man in his prime, and the instant Lin Yi laid eyes on him, his entire being froze.

It was not a shock of seeing someone one didn't expect to see, or thought was dead; no, it was a shock of seeing something that a mortal mind couldn't possibly comprehend. As the man looked at him, Lin Yi didn't see a mere human, but something more. The man didn't just look more handsome and otherworldly than normal beings, but also more real. As if he grasped a truth of heaven and earth and took that truth for himself, it was as if the laws of the world worked differently for him.

Lin Yi's spiritual instincts sent him warning after warning, unlike anything he had ever experienced, as he looked upon the man who, for all he knew and sensed, was in a completely different realm of life. He knew without a doubt that the man could kill him with a mere thought. And Lin Yi realized at this moment that the true depths of the cultivation world were something he never could have imagined.

The man moved slightly and opened his mouth to say something, and Lin Yi saw the Spiritual Qi quivering, following the man like a worshipful servant rather than the force of heaven and earth it was supposed to be.

"Disciple Lin Yi. I am Dao Master Quenching Ape, the Division Master of the Artifact Forging Peak of our Outer Court." Even the sound of his words was something Lin Yi had never heard before. They weren't just physical sound waves, but something more, something spiritual, maybe even beyond that. They traveled directly into Lin Yi's deepest self. He did not just understand the words in the form of their language, but also as their intended meanings.

He doubted not that he would understand the Elder Quenching Ape's words, or rather their meaning, if he spoke in a completely unknown or made-up language. So this was even just the slightest difference between a Qi Condensation Cultivator and a Foundation Establishment Dao Master! Lin Yi thought gravely as he awoke from his shock and realized who the man was from his introduction. The distance is so great, I can not even measure it at the moment.

The mysteries of his Foundation Establishment Realm were visible through the phenomena of heaven and earth. But this was also not unnatural. He was merely an early-stage minor cultivator while the man before him was a proper Dao Master. He realized, startled that he had never introduced himself, despite a few seconds already having passed. Luckily, the Division Master was a patient man. Lin Yi bowed respectfully at his waist and clasped his hands together.

"Greetings, Elder Quenching Ape. My name is Lin Yi." He then gestured to the still-frozen bee queen on his head; spirit beasts had, after all, greater animalistic instincts than humans.

"And this is my companion, Xiao Jinse. We will be in your care for this journey." He decided not to be more eloquent than usual. The Elder didn't seem to be that kind of a person.

"Hmm." Dao Master Quenching Ape nodded towards them, and Jinse slowly recovered too.

"You have a spiritual plant and her beehive to transport, as I was informed." He gestured towards the bee queen.

"Lead the way, disciple."

"Yes, Elder!" Together with Xiao Jinse, Lin Yi led Dao Master Quenching Ape into the courtyard and to the Solitary Yang Bamboo. The seed he planted four years ago had sprouted and grown into a majestic bamboo with fine but strong white lines as veins, rising dozens of meters into the sky.

"This is the spiritual plant you want to bring with you?"

"Yes, Elder." Quenching Ape nodded and waved his hand over the bamboo, planning to store it. However, Lin Yi was a little confused as he couldn't sense any activation of magical power or divine sense. Lin Yi had prepared the bamboo over the past days for transport. He used his connection with the plant to retract its roots, which had once been anchored deep in the earth. While not yet a true wood-control spell, the technique could be considered a pseudo-one.

He saw the Inner Court Elder uproot the entire Solitary Yang Bamboo, along with the surrounding soil. The spiritual plant flew towards the elder and then miraculously vanished into nothingness. Lin Yi's eyes opened wide in astonishment before coming to a realization. Ah, of course. Dao Master Quenching Ape is the Division Master of the Artifact Refining Peak and likely a second-rank Artifact Refiner. He nodded inwardly.

Magic artifacts were not just greater in strength than magic tools but also more mysterious in their abilities and functions. It was likely that he possessed a storage-type magic artifact. In fact, that was one of his concerns with moving to the Inner Court, transporting his Solitary Yang Bamboo and beehive. His own storage pouch, besides not being big enough for the spiritual plant, couldn't store living beings for long. He informed Deputy Master Yu about this too.

It is likely that the Dao Master's storage artifact can hold even living beings. Lin Yi thought in curiosity as he led the Quenching Ape Dao Master towards the beehive, which the man also stored quickly. Lin Yi had Xiao Jinse induce a semi-hibernation in the colony and fortify the hive itself for transport. Afterward, they returned to the flying ship that was still stationed in front of the courtyard. The Inner Court Elder looked at him for a moment and asked.

"You have everything ready, Disciple Lin?" Lin Yi nodded.

"Yes, I prepared everything for moving." Without much of a reaction, the Dao Master entered the flying boat and gestured for Lin Yi and Xiao Jinse to do the same.