Chapter 57 - 55: Infinite Body Refinement!

Chapter 57: Chapter 55: Infinite Body Refinement!

"The thirteenth level of Body Refinement!"

In fact, Su Tan’s Body Refinement had undergone an unimaginable transformation. Unlike other cultivators, his Body Refinement realm did not stop at the ninth level. After successfully cultivating the eleventh illustration, Su Tan’s Body Refinement realm reached the thirteenth level! Furthermore, he felt that his Body Refinement realm had yet to reach its peak. In other words, he could continue to elevate it to the fourteenth level, the fifteenth level, and beyond.

What had caused this change? The system? Or the Ten Thousand Dao Furnace?

Su Tan pondered this for a long time. Other than these two, there shouldn’t be anything else that could make his Body Refinement realm differ so drastically from others. To address this issue regarding Body Refinement, Su Tan had the Xu Family deliver numerous ancient texts and even discussed the matter with the Little White Wolf.

In the fragmented records of certain ancient texts, he did indeed find cases similar to his own. It was said that countless eons ago, in an era of myth that predated even myths themselves, there was indeed a special class of beings who focused solely on cultivating the Body Refinement realm. They tempered their physical bodies to the absolute limit, achieving sanctification through the flesh to become Saints!

However, according to the ancient texts, Body Refinement also had its limitations. For the strongest physical bodies, becoming a Saint was the absolute limit. Moreover, only a rare few could achieve this. For the vast majority, the absolute limit was the ninth level of Body Refinement! Most importantly, in that era, only those who were unable to gather Spiritual Qi were forced to carve out this unorthodox cultivation path of achieving sanctification through the flesh.

That was an era with a chaotic cultivation system. Some focused solely on the physical body, while others dedicated themselves entirely to Qi Condensation. It was a chaotic mix. The occasional few who managed to become Saints were already considered exceptionally gifted, but as for Supreme Beings of the Emperor Dao... such existences had never appeared.

Later, a peerless Emperor with an unknown title emerged. Armed with great wisdom and Great Divine Powers, he created the modern cultivation system. As a result, Body Refinement, Qi Condensation, and the like no longer existed in isolation. They were blended into a single, unified system. Thus came the subsequent Body Refinement Realm, Qi Condensation Realm, and so on. With an optimized cultivation system and complete realms, the number of people who became Saints greatly increased, and many Supreme Beings of the Emperor Dao emerged in the generations that followed! And that peerless Emperor came to be reverently known as the Ancestral Emperor of the Ten Thousand Races!

But this was merely a legend. Did this Ancestral Emperor truly exist? According to historical research, no evidence had been found to date. There was not a single trace of his existence. More than one Great Power in later generations had speculated that perhaps the Ancestral Emperor didn’t exist at all. Perhaps he was merely a "created god"—a spiritual belief fabricated by their ancestors. The modern cultivation system wasn’t created by the Ancestral Emperor either. Instead, it was the brilliant ancestors of the Ten Thousand Races who, while blazing trails through the wild and desolate lands in search of the Dao, gradually perfected the cultivation system bit by bit.

Compared to the former, this latter theory was far more widely accepted. After all, in the most primitive era, cultivation was like an ignorant monkey that had yet to develop intelligence. How could a being akin to a shining star of wisdom suddenly appear and single-handedly invent such an earth-shattering cultivation system? It was impossible! Even today, when the path of cultivation had been thoroughly researched, when various disciplines like Arrays, Talismans, and Elixirs had been meticulously subdivided and refined, and when it was widely believed that cultivation held no more secrets, people could still only sigh in awe when faced with this flawless cultivation system, marveling at the profound wisdom of the ancients who had created it.

Such a monumental undertaking could not possibly have been accomplished by a single person. It must have been the ancestors of the Ten Thousand Races who, over countless eons, slowly created and optimized it. They smoothed out the divergent paths, eventually forging it into the system it was today.

What were divergent paths? When creating this system, it was naturally impossible to achieve success in a single stroke. They had undoubtedly taken divergent paths, such as focusing solely on Body Refinement or solely on Qi Condensation. These were all considered divergent paths.

After Su Tan finished studying this type of unofficial history, he couldn’t help but sigh. It turned out that the history of the cultivation world was also shrouded in obscurity. It remained full of secrets and profound mysteries!

"Then... what about my Body Refinement realm? Should I continue with it?" Su Tan found himself in a dilemma. At the beginning of eternity, cultivating a single realm could lead one to become a Saint, but becoming a Saint was also the absolute limit! With Su Tan’s current physical strength, he was already capable of proceeding to the cultivation of the next realm: Qi Condensation! Moreover, his conditions had far exceeded the level required for Qi Condensation. The stronger and more Perfect the body was tempered, the higher one’s future achievements would be. Even the tallest towers must be built from the ground up. This was common knowledge in the cultivation world.

Su Tan’s current Physique could still become even more Perfect. But as for Body Refinement... when would it ever end? Su Tan didn’t know. He was completely lost!

Should he ask the Little White Wolf? Given his unique situation, the Little White Wolf probably wouldn’t be able to offer any good advice either. Should he ask the system? Leaving aside whether the system would even answer, even if it did, Su Tan didn’t know if following the system’s guidance step by step in his cultivation was a good thing or a bad thing.

In his eyes, the system had always just been a tool—a handy little tool for him to grow stronger. He didn’t have to follow its every instruction. Su Tan was a human. He possessed his own consciousness and independent thoughts. He was not a puppet who simply did whatever the system told him to do. Furthermore, the system was not omniscient and omnipotent. At the very least, when Su Tan had previously unlocked the Ten Thousand Dao Furnace, it had exceeded the system’s cognitive programming.

From this, Su Tan could see that while the system was powerful, it actually had its limitations too. On the path of cultivation, it could serve as an irreplaceable auxiliary tool, but it absolutely must not become the dominating force that dictated all of his cultivation actions. He couldn’t just listen to everything it said. He needed to use his brain and have his own way of thinking.

Come to think of it... Su Tan felt that he was being a bit ridiculous. If other transmigrators received a system, they would definitely be so thrilled they wouldn’t be able to sleep. They would eagerly do whatever the system told them to, without even using their brains. All they’d care about was steamrolling over everything in their path and becoming Emperors. Why would they ever overthink things like this?

He really was a weirdo for being like this! However, perhaps this wasn’t a bad thing. The more he interacted with this world and the more he interacted with the system, the more Su Tan understood a certain issue! If this world was a High Martial World, then the existence of the system was one dimension higher than this world. In other words, the system existed on a higher dimensional plane than this world, yet some of Su Tan’s actions... had exceeded the cognitive operations of the system.

It was precisely because of this that for some cultivation-related problems, Su Tan couldn’t seek answers from anyone else, not even the system. For example, his current Body Refinement. Should he continue, or should he skip straight to Qi Condensation and begin cultivating the Qi Condensation Realm? If he asked the people of this world, they would probably advise him to proceed with Qi Condensation. After all, in their eyes, focusing solely on Body Refinement had its limitations. If he asked the system... The system would probably try to "correct" his "misguided" Dao of cultivation.

What should he do? Su Tan felt somewhat lost and lonely. His choices were filled with the unknown. Qi Condensation, or continue with Body Refinement? No one could help him answer this! As for his future goals and the path he would walk in the future... Frankly speaking, Su Tan currently had no definite plans.

However, there was one thing he was certain of. And that was to become stronger! Becoming stronger was his main quest! This was a world where martial strength reigned supreme. It might sound cliché, but it was the undeniable truth. Even if he had no intention of persecuting anyone, and even if he just wanted to live a peaceful and quiet life, he still needed to become stronger!

Thinking of this, Su Tan suddenly experienced a moment of enlightenment. He had figured it out!

"That’s right... Everything I’ve done—whether it was subduing the Little White Wolf, taking in the Xu Family, or entering the Void God Realm to collect Cultivation Techniques—has all been for a single purpose: to become stronger. Since that’s the case, then this is simple!" Su Tan muttered to himself.

Subduing the Little White Wolf was to give himself the ability to protect himself. Taking in the Xu Family was to secure a safe environment where he wouldn’t be bogged down by trivial matters. Collecting Cultivation Techniques was to strengthen his own core power. Everything he did remained aligned with his main quest.

"I’ll do whatever it takes to become stronger. Whether it’s Qi Condensation, Body Refinement, or anything else... the ultimate goal is just to grow stronger. Right now, Body Refinement can continue to make me stronger, so why shouldn’t I continue? As long as I can grow stronger, so what if I undergo infinite Body Refinement? Besides, it’s not like I’m like those beings from the beginning of eternity who could only cultivate Body Refinement and were incapable of Qi Condensation..."