Chapter 26: Cultivation in the Secret Realm
The world transformed into a tapestry of colors; the monochrome ink was instantly replaced by a vibrant rainbow. Even the earth beneath their feet became transparent and colorful, rippling like water whenever they stepped upon it. The scene before their eyes, reminiscent of the aurora borealis and the birth of heaven and earth, struck awe into their hearts, filling them with powerlessness from deep within.
Zhou Yi sighed from the bottom of his heart—this truly did not feel like a martial arts world at all. This was a cosmic alteration, belonging entirely to the realm of fantasy.
As the two gazed, stunned, a luminous screen appeared in the dazzling, transparent world, hanging before them like a leaderboard. Lines of densely packed characters appeared upon it. Fortunately, this world still used Chinese characters, allowing Zhou Yi to understand.
It was an instruction manual, explaining the use of the secret realm before them. The secret realm was activated with a token and divided into three stages: Splitting Waves, Splitting Seas, and Splitting Mountains.
It was simple—so simple that both were dumbfounded. Upon seeing the dense writing, they had expected complexity, but after reading it through, it was clear: it was just that straightforward.
Practicing the saber technique was simple—just hack! Practice made perfect; the more you hacked, the longer you persevered, the more skilled you became.
The saber technique was all about hacking.
As for internal energy, one absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gathered the essence of sun and moon, cultivated a breath within the body, and strengthened it—that was internal energy.
Within the secret realm, spiritual energy was multiplied compared to the outside world; cultivating internal energy yielded twice the result with half the effort. One year inside was equivalent to ten years outside.
…
Thunderous booms echoed! This time, the sky was not so colorful—just blue, ocean blue, the color of the sea.
Waves surged, crashing one after another. Zhou Yi and Song Hai stood in the shallows, each holding a Tiger-Head Saber, its blade a meter and twenty centimeters long. Gripping the hilt with both hands, the weight ensured their grasp was strong.
Not far behind them stood a platform with various living supplies and, beside it, two simple houses.
Boom!
The waves soared, each over half a meter high. The two raised their sabers, resting them on their shoulders, and as the crest approached, they struck down.
Bang!
“Cough, cough!” Zhou Yi split the first wave, but as his strength faded, the following waves crashed over him, knocking him to the ground. Unprepared, he swallowed several mouthfuls of water and coughed incessantly.
“I forgot… cough, cough…” Lying on the sand, Zhou Yi coughed as he spoke to Song Hai beside him. “Use seventy percent of your strength, reserve thirty percent. These waves come one after another; if you don’t save your strength, you’ll only split one at most.”
“Mm!” Song Hai, equally bedraggled, nodded and slowly got up.
“Again!”
Bang!
“Again!”
Bang!
“Again!”
Bang!
“Again!”
Again and again, both were thrown onto the beach by the waves. Using seventy percent strength and reserving thirty sounded simple, but achieving it was far from easy. After countless failures, they finally succeeded.
Unknowingly, when success came, neither paid it much mind. As long as they didn’t give up, wasn’t success inevitable? What else did they need?
Boom!
A single strike—split!
Boom!
Consecutive strikes—split!
Boom!
Three strikes!
Wave after wave, strike after strike, their movements grew increasingly fluid. In the rhythm of saber swings and withdrawals, their strength flowed naturally—expending old strength, reserving residual strength, channeling new strength, so that force continued without end, cycling endlessly.
…
With every strike, they used all their physical strength. With the support of internal energy, they could endure longer.
When their internal energy was depleted, they left the beach, sat cross-legged behind, and cultivated their internal energy.
As soon as they sat and began their practice, strands of spiritual energy flocked to their bodies like swallows returning to their nests.
The Mountain Reliance Method—be your own mountain, become your own support.
They operated the Mountain Reliance Method, forging internal energy.
Mind and internal energy communicated; with intent, they guided strands of spiritual energy to flow through their bodies, slowly refining it. Eventually, when it reached the dantian, it merged with the primordial internal energy, gradually increasing their internal strength.
…
Zhou Yi relished this environment—for the spiritual energy, for the energy value!
In this secret realm, as he split waves again and again, Zhou Yi was delighted to discover his energy value constantly rising. Though not as fast as when he was at the wind gap, the key was that he felt no pain!
Moreover, the speed wasn’t really slow at all.
Now, he had already cultivated internal strength, meeting the requirements for “Qi.”
Previously, at the wind gap, Zhou Yi’s energy increased rapidly, accumulating considerable energy over time. But ultimately, he could only raise his “Body” attribute to the peak value of ten.
No matter whether it was “Qi,” “Spirit,” or the unnamed saber technique—oh, it wasn’t unnamed anymore; now it had a name: Mountain Reliance Saber!
Once he obtained the manual, it was named.
Overall, on his attribute panel, only “Body” could increase further; none of the others could. Strangely, when his cell count reached 999, it could not rise any more, no matter what he tried!
The cell count hit its limit; energy accumulated to 9,990 points, after which not a single point more could be gained—pain suffered in vain!
Thus, he had left; otherwise, he might still be at the wind gap, unable to bear leaving!
Though it was agonizing, truly agonizing, Zhou Yi was willing.
With a goal, any pain became insignificant!
He thought, “Qi” meant internal energy—internal skills. The reason it couldn’t increase must have been his lack of an internal skill method. Perhaps once he learned it, he could boost it!
As for how to increase saber technique or spirit, Zhou Yi hadn’t figured it out yet.
Now, the situation was clear: once he learned internal skills, “Qi” could indeed be increased, and along with it, even the saber technique could be boosted. Not only the saber technique but the newly learned internal skill as well!
This was wonderful news!
With such motivation, Zhou Yi’s enthusiasm for cultivation soared!
…
The Mountain Reliance Method—after internal energy was cultivated, it emphasized internal energy as a mountain: heavy as a mountain, stable as a mountain. It was divided into seven levels, distinguished by color.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
The realms were named: Red Mountain, Orange Mountain, Yellow Mountain, Green Mountain, Blue Mountain, Indigo Mountain, and the highest, Violet Mountain.
Seven levels of internal strength, each level a transformation.
Red Mountain—one year of internal strength.
Orange Mountain—ten years of internal strength!
Yellow Mountain—thirty years of internal strength!
Green Mountain—a cycle (sixty years) of internal strength!
Blue Mountain—a century of internal strength!
Indigo Mountain—two centuries of internal strength!
Violet Mountain—a millennium (five hundred years) of internal strength!