"Tempering the bones and tendons, condensing vital energy, achieving inner force; refining essence into force—this is the Houtian (Post-Heaven) realm." In the secret chamber, He Yiming’s voice, thick with confusion, slowly resonated.
He held the book open in his hands, scrutinizing the text by the flickering candlelight against the wall.
Only then did he realize the book was incomplete, containing barely more than half of its intended length.
However, this was the most complete record he had managed to find among all the texts available.
The remaining notes and insights mostly detailed the key points for breaking through the levels below the tenth layer of Inner Force.
The writers of these volumes clearly lacked any experience of the Xiantian (Pre-Heaven) realm, rendering them utterly useless to He Yiming in his current state.
Of course, these books would prove invaluable to the third generation of the family later on, helping them avoid many detours.
He Yiming was even certain that while his father and third uncle might not have accessed this secret chamber, they had certainly read the books housed within it.
Though perhaps not every page, they must have read the descriptions detailing the various methods of advancement, only to ultimately fail in achieving a breakthrough themselves.
The reason his grandfather and eldest uncle had kept these texts hidden from him until today was likely due to the astonishing speed of his advancement—a pace that defied all expectations, which is why they never mentioned the chamber’s existence.
If not for seeing his current despondent state today, guessing that he had encountered trouble during his cultivation, they probably wouldn't have revealed this secret room to him.
Among all the volumes, only this one detailed anything concerning the Xiantian realm.
The text recorded that the path of cultivation was divided into three ways: Jing (Essence), Qi (Energy), and Shen (Spirit).
The Houtian practitioner focused solely on perfecting the physical body.
Within the human body inherently resides vital energy (Jing).
Although constitutions differ, causing variations in the abundance of this energy—some rich, some weak—what the cultivator trains is precisely this vital energy.
Regardless of the cultivation method, the core principle is the constant enhancement and accumulation of this vital energy, enabling the physical body to endure arduous training, which serves the function of tempering the bones and tendons.
If the bones and tendons are strong, the body’s vital energy naturally becomes abundant.
Only with powerful vital energy can one begin to cultivate Inner Force.
The process of cultivating Inner Force is the transformation of vital energy into Inner Force; the more abundant the vital energy, the stronger the transformed Inner Force.
Refining essence into force—this is the Houtian realm.
This single sentence served as the perfect summation for all Houtian masters.
The book described: Jing belongs to the Houtian force path, Qi belongs to the Xiantian energy path, and Shen belongs to the Heaven and Earth spirit path.
The three realms necessitated three distinct cultivation methods.
The Xiantian energy path was already an existence of immense power; it could be said that reaching the Xiantian realm meant slightly departing from the confines of ordinary humanity.
A peak expert at the tenth layer of Inner Force possessed inexhaustible Inner Force and unparalleled physical strength.
However, such a master, on level ground, facing an assault by a thousand men—even a combined army of hundreds of cultivators and common soldiers fighting desperately—would eventually exhaust their strength and perish.
But if the cultivator’s rank ascended to the Xiantian realm, this situation would absolutely never occur.
Unless surrounded and besieged by an army composed of ten thousand cultivators, their life would essentially be safe.
Moreover, no Xiantian expert would ever choose the path of fighting to the death against an army of ten thousand.
It could be said that upon reaching the Xiantian realm, the cultivator no longer relied on sheer numbers to be vanquished.
As for the realm above, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Path, this book offered nothing beyond the name; there were no further explanations.
He Yiming was unsure if other records existed elsewhere, as the content pertaining to the Xiantian realm itself was sparse, occupying only a meager page.
After this page, nothing followed.
Perhaps it was never fully transcribed, or perhaps it was lost during the copying process.
In any case, He Yiming felt a profound sense of regret.
Yet, this thin page of content alone offered He Yiming a glimpse into why he hadn't broken through the limiting barrier of the tenth layer despite cultivating the new Inner Force technique.
According to the book, during the Houtian realm, the human body was like a large water vat not yet filled with wine.
The Inner Force cultivation technique he had practiced previously was dedicated to refining and purifying the body’s naturally generated vital energy, ultimately transforming it into powerful Inner Force, which was then poured as clear water into the vat.
As Inner Force cultivation steadily increased, the water level in the vat rose.
With every breakthrough of an Inner Force layer, the body's vat grew significantly larger and sturdier, allowing it to contain more water.
However, upon reaching the peak of the tenth layer, the vat had reached its ultimate capacity—the absolute limit the human body could hold.
At this juncture, the body’s vat could no longer be expanded through continuous Inner Force cultivation.
It was said that reaching this point meant the body's potential had been developed to its zenith; no further advancement was possible through this means.
Thus, the ancestors of antiquity turned their focus towards "Qi." The so-called Qi was not the breath expelled during respiration, but rather a peculiar energy permeating the heavens and earth.
This energy had various names—Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and so on—but it was the vast, incredible, pervasive energy found everywhere between heaven and earth.
After countless efforts, and at the cost of who knows how many lives, the ancient ancestors finally charted a method to utilize the energy of heaven and earth.
When their own Inner Force reached the peak of the tenth layer and could progress no further, they began to attempt communication with the energy of heaven and earth, drawing this boundless power into their bodies.
Once the energy of heaven and earth entered the human body, it naturally formed a new type of power.
The sheer strength of this power was absolutely capable of shattering the body’s original limitations.
Although a ruptured vat would lead to the destruction of the body, successfully introducing the energy of heaven and earth could recast a new, unimaginably large vat.
As the saying goes: out with the old, in with the new.
Only through this process of breaking down to be reborn could one achieve the Xiantian energy path of the Xiantian realm.
Putting down the book, He Yiming’s face was etched with a wry smile.
No wonder practicing the Dali Jue yielded no effect.
His body's entire reserve of vital energy had already been refined and condensed into Inner Force.
His body had reached the Houtian peak; this vat could no longer gather any more liquid.
To advance further, he had no choice but to shatter the limit and communicate with the energy of heaven and earth to obtain a new expanse.
However, the book described it too lightly.
He shook his head and concentrated for a long time, yet failed to sense any discernible power of heaven and earth around him.
If the book hadn't asserted it so confidently, if his elders hadn't hidden these things here like family heirlooms, and if he hadn't cultivated the Xiantian Battle Techniques and understood the unbridgeable gap between the two, He Yiming might never have believed that such bizarre Heaven and Earth Qi existed in this world.
He shook his head slightly; it seemed forging a connection with the ethereal Heaven and Earth Qi outside, which might not even exist, was not an easy feat for breaking through the tenth layer peak.
Naturally, if it were easy, He Wude would have long entered the Xiantian realm instead of lingering at the peak of the tenth layer.
The door to the secret chamber was suddenly thrust open, and He Wude entered once more.
He Yiming started slightly. "Grandfather, a whole day?" He Wude shook his head faintly, retrieving a bamboo basket from behind him and taking out the basins of food one by one. "Yiming, I know you aren't terribly hungry, but eat something and rest for a while." He Yiming looked over in surprise.
Bamboo shoot roasted meat, braised chicken wings—though these were common dishes, they were his favorite fare.
A warmth spread through his heart.
He Yiming replied respectfully, "Yes, Grandfather." He sat down and, in a few quick gulps, devoured all the food.
With his current strength, he could easily go three or two days without water or, conversely, consume a massive feast without issue.
The old man certainly knew this, yet he couldn't resist bringing him food.
Seeing his grandson enjoy the meal, the old man’s face lit up with a smile.
Glancing around, He Wude chuckled, "Yiming, what are you reading?" He Yiming’s heart gave a slight stir.
He asked, "Grandfather, where did this book come from?" He Wude let out a long sigh. "I casually copied this when I was a young apprentice serving a physician, during my leisure time." He Yiming blinked twice, sensing there was a story behind it, but since the elder chose not to speak, he wouldn't press.
After a moment's thought, he noted, "Grandfather, this seems to be only half a book." "It is indeed only half a volume, but this half is enough to serve as our family's heirloom." He Yiming nodded slightly, not doubting this fact.
The problem was, this half alone served him no current purpose.
He Wude suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! I think I copied an extra page toward the end.
It fell out accidentally, let me see..." He Yiming’s eyes immediately lit up.
Even half a page would have been better than nothing, let alone a full extra page.
He Wude frowned slightly, murmuring softly, "That page recorded the method for breaking through the peak of the Houtian tenth layer and entering the Xiantian realm.
Where did I put it?" He Yiming shot up from his seat.
There was actually a record of the method? In that moment, he forgot to wonder why his grandfather hadn't used such a marvelous method himself if it truly existed.
He Wude pondered for a long time before finally remembering.
He turned and walked out, returning shortly with a thin sheet of paper in his hand. "I kept this page on my person for ten years, but in recent years, realizing Xiantian was beyond my reach, I placed it on the outside bookshelf.
If I hadn't seen you reading, I wouldn't have recalled it." The old man sighed deeply; his memory was slowly fading, no longer as sharp as it once was.
He Yiming took the paper from his elder’s hand, paying no mind to the man’s gentle monologue, and immediately scanned the text from top to bottom.
The first side contained no mention of how to break through the Houtian tenth layer peak.
He impatiently flipped it over, his gaze quickly moving to the bottom.
Indeed, it clearly detailed the method the book's author had used to break through the Houtian tenth layer peak and advance to the Xiantian realm.
However, upon reading this method, even with He Yiming's cultivation at the peak of the tenth layer, he couldn't help but curse aloud in sheer frustration. "You're not human..."