Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Hearing Junior Martial Uncle Wu explain that the Xuanyuan Continent’s atmosphere had a five-layer structure, Zhao Lin found it familiar, as it stirred memories from his past life.

However, as he listened, he realized the five atmospheric layers here were completely different from those he remembered.

The region from the ground up to an altitude of six hundred zhang is called the Spiritual Energy Layer.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi is highest in the Spiritual Energy Layer. It contains no Evil Qi or Gang Qi, making it suitable for all living beings, including cultivators and mortals.

Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above can fly through the air in this layer, and those in the mid-to-late stages of the Qi Refining Realm can achieve the same with the help of flying treasures.

But the Spiritual Energy Layer has one major problem: the air is too dense.

This creates immense drag during flight, making it very difficult to build up speed.

To fly faster, one must ascend to the next atmospheric layer: the Cloud Layer.

Hearing this, Zhao Lin nodded to himself. ’That makes sense,’ he thought.

The wind resistance a person faces while upright is immense. Even with abundant Mana, a cultivator would likely struggle to exceed a hundred kilometers per hour. Reaching the thousand-kilometer-per-hour speeds of an airplane would be pure fantasy.

Unless... a cultivator flew on their stomach or back.

But that would be undignified, not to mention leaving them vulnerable from both front and back.

According to Junior Martial Uncle Wu’s explanation, the Cloud Layer, as its name implies, is located near the clouds, at an altitude between six hundred and eight hundred zhang from the ground.

This isn’t absolute, however. If blocked by high mountains, this layer will rise in elevation.

For instance, on a thousand-zhang mountain, you would typically only find the Spiritual Energy Layer and the Cloud Layer. If the mountain has a Spirit Vein with a Gathering Spirit Array, then only the Spiritual Energy Layer will be present.

The air in the Cloud Layer is thin, so there is naturally less resistance, allowing Foundation Establishment cultivators to fly at high speeds.

But the Cloud Layer is very "thin," only about two hundred zhang thick. Evil Qi frequently leaks down from the "Evil Qi Layer" above, forming turbulent currents.

The Flying Vessel they were on was currently flying through the Cloud Layer. Although it was equipped with a Protective Array to resist the turbulent Evil Qi, it couldn’t completely avoid the impacts.

This was the cause of the Flying Vessel’s earlier jolting and shaking.

Foundation Establishment cultivators can withstand brief exposure to the Evil Qi, but only cultivators at the Purple Mansion Realm or higher can manage prolonged flight in this layer.

The third layer is the Evil Qi Layer.

The Evil Qi Layer is filled with Evil Qi and can be up to a thousand zhang thick.

The air here is even thinner, offering less flight resistance, but Gang Qi from the fourth layer frequently permeates it.

For the same reason, Purple Mansion Realm cultivators cannot remain in the Evil Qi Layer for long, and it’s also exceedingly difficult for ordinary Flying Vessels.

Only cultivators at the Golden Core Realm and Divinity Transformation Realm, or Spiritual Vessels equipped with more powerful Protective Arrays, can navigate it with ease.

The fourth layer: the Gang Qi Layer.

Destructive gales of Gang Qi rage through the Gang Qi Layer. Its power is so immense that Low-Tier cultivators cannot survive here. Only Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators, long-range vessels, and large battleships can traverse it.

The giant vessel that had ferried them earlier flew within this very layer.

The Fifth Layer is the Void Layer.

The Void Layer is a near-vacuum. It has no Spiritual Qi, Evil Qi, or Gang Qi, but it does contain something even more powerful: extra-dimensional Celestial Thunder.

Any living being that enters this layer will be bombarded by Celestial Thunder.

Even a single strike would be enough to annihilate a Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator, leaving not even ash behind.

At present, no cultivator or Spiritual Vessel can fly in the Void Layer.

According to legend, only when a Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator breaks through, reforges their physical body and Primordial Spirit, and enters the critical Ascension Realm can they even begin to withstand the Celestial Thunder.

But whether they actually survive depends on their level of cultivation and their fortune.

When Junior Martial Uncle Wu finished his explanation, the youths fell silent, quietly mulling over everything they had just learned.

"Divinity Transformation, Ascension..."

Zhao Lin’s mind reeled. ’So cultivators on the Xuanyuan Continent have to endure a bombardment of Celestial Thunder just to ascend,’ he thought. ’The path to eternal life is fraught with peril and not so easily won.’

After a long moment, Lin Chaoran broke the silence. "Junior Martial Uncle Wu, is the Flying Vessel we’re on now difficult to pilot? And were you the one piloting the giant vessel from before?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu nodded. "Piloting a Spiritual Vessel requires you to control multiple Arrays simultaneously to make it attack, defend, accelerate, decelerate, ascend, descend, and turn. The larger the Spiritual Vessel, the more difficult it is to pilot."

"Actually, I wasn’t piloting the giant vessel alone. Two other fellow Daoists were assisting me. They are stationed there year-round, so they didn’t come down with us."

With that, he glanced at the two green-robed cultivators sitting on a raised platform. "You might not expect it, but piloting a Flying Vessel is a skill in itself—a form of Daoist art."

Zhao Lin wondered to himself, ’I knew how to drive a car in my past life. I wonder if that will make learning to pilot a Flying Vessel any faster?’

Lin Chaoran bowed slightly. "I see. Thank you for clarifying, Junior Martial Uncle Wu."

Guiding new disciples was Junior Martial Uncle Wu’s responsibility, which included imparting knowledge. Seeing how engrossed everyone was, he was happy to tell them more about the sect.

A strange and novel world of cultivation unfolded before their eyes.

The Chenghua Sect was founded fifty thousand years ago and is the most ancient sect on the Xuanyuan Continent.

The Spirit Rice and Spirit Tea now widely cultivated throughout the Cultivation Realm both originated from the Chenghua Sect.

The Chenghua Sect was the first to domesticate the Spiritual Silkworm and use its silk to create Dharma Robes.

Not only that, but the Chenghua Sect was also the first to pioneer the Five Elements Skill.

The first to discover the function of Spirit Veins and the methods for crafting and cutting Spirit Stones.

The first to create runes and, from them, craft talismans.

The first to research how to deploy Arrays.

The very first Foundation Establishment Pill on the Xuanyuan Continent was also created by a Chenghua Sect cultivator...

Junior Martial Uncle Wu listed the sect’s accomplishments one by one with immense pride. The youths listened with expressions of awe, thrilled that they were about to join such a prestigious sect.

Zhao Lin felt a surge of excitement and found himself developing an inexplicable fondness for the Chenghua Sect.

A disciple asked, "Junior Martial Uncle, when will we arrive at the sect?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu burst out laughing. "We’re already within the sect’s territory!"

"We’re already in the sect’s territory?"

The disciple who had asked glanced down below, confused. "But it’s just desolate mountains and wilderness down there. Where is the sect?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu stifled his laughter and said with a serious expression, "The Chenghua Sect’s domain is vast, home to nearly a hundred thousand cultivators. We do not all gather in one place but are spread out."

Hearing that the sect had nearly a hundred thousand cultivators, the youths were left dumbfounded.

Zhao Lin, however, wasn’t overly surprised. He had already made a rough estimate of the number of cultivators in the Chenghua Sect, and one hundred thousand wasn’t far off.

Junior Martial Uncle Wu continued, "Cultivation is inseparable from Spirit Veins. Though the sect’s lands stretch for tens of thousands of li, Spirit Veins are finite. Thus, most cultivators practice in the high mountains and deep valleys where Spirit Veins are located."

"Our Chenghua Sect possesses thirteen high-tier Spirit Veins, along with over a hundred mid- and low-tier Spirit Veins of various sizes."

"To facilitate administration, the sect’s forebears emulated the mortal world, dividing the entire sect into thirteen provinces. Each province is further subdivided into multiple counties."

At this, Junior Martial Uncle Wu gave a carefree smile. "’Province’ and ’county’ are just names, of course. The reality is quite different, as you will see for yourselves when we arrive."

"The place we are headed to now is Han Chi County, in Nanhe Province."