Chapter 7: In the Shadow of Divinity
The vast cosmos was broadly divided into two great territories: the Outer Realms and the Inner Realms.
The expanse of the Outer Realms was vast beyond measure, seemingly limitless to most cultivators. Though teeming with countless realms, the majority were inhabited by low-level practitioners. The strongest experts rarely exceeded the Divine Transformation Realm, and even those few often sought refuge in the Inner Realms, where resources and environments were far superior for cultivation.
Only a handful of realms in the Outer Realms could sustain such powerhouses. These realms formed the collective known as the Outer Divine Sector, each capable of nurturing and retaining experts at the Divine Transformation Realm. Among these realms stood the Sea and Mountain Realm, home to the Shadowclaw Sect—a middling power compared to others in the sector.
Rumors whispered that the Sea and Mountain Realm housed five Divine Transformation Realm experts. One of them was said to be the master of the Azure Dragon Monarch, founder of the Azure Dragon Sect—a Heavenly Tribulation powerhouse, just one step below the Divine Transformation Realm.
The cosmos was boundless, but the path of cultivation—though obscure—followed ancient laws. All who aspired to defy age, to bend the heavens, to become more than mortal, began at the foot of the same mountain. And so the Mortal Path unfolded, layer by layer, each realm a crucible.
Every cultivator’s journey began in darkness.
At the first realm, The Spirit Awakening Realm, one learned to sense the breath of the world—the ambient spiritual Qi that drifted unseen. With it came strength beyond mortal ken: bones hardened, the senses sharpened, the blood stirred with power.
At this level, cultivators could ignite fire with a gesture, leap rooftops with ease, and resist the bite of steel and frost. But they remained fragile, their foundations unformed, like seeds buried shallow in rocky soil.
Few lived past 120 years, their bodies unable to contain the slow influx of power without breaking.