"Hmm?"
Mu Jinyu heard the voice, turned his head to look at Yu Shenfeng, hesitated slightly, then nodded agreeably, "Alright, thank you for your assistance, Master Yu."
He took over the artifact that resembled the Jade Purifying Bottle, then aimed the mouth of the bottle at the mass of Dragon Resentment Evil Poison, and poured robust True Yuan into it.
Instantly, a fierce white light burst from the mouth of the bottle, followed by a brilliant column of light that enveloped the twisting and struggling mass of Dragon Resentment Evil Poison, swiftly retracting it into the bottle.
With a "whoosh," the column of light dissipated, taking the mass of Dragon Resentment Evil Poison back into the Jade Purifying Bottle along with it.
At this time, Yu Shenfeng spoke up, "Dragon King, this magic treasure isn't worth much. Consider it the rent for Little Ying's and my stay on Yinlong Mountain."
He said this with a chuckle, "To speak frankly, I'm still getting the better deal. In a Heaven Cave blessed land like Yinlong Mountain, if one were in Kunlun Ruins, the cost to stay a single day would be a hefty sum of Spirit Stones. Here I am, trading a magic treasure for a long-term residence. I'm in debt to the Dragon King for not taking issue with me."
"Not at all," Mu Jinyu replied, holding the Jade Purifying Bottle and turning back to Yu Shenfeng, "With Master Yu's strength, even in Kunlun Ruins, would you need to spend Spirit Stones to borrow a Heaven Cave for cultivation? I suspect that all the major sects would be overjoyed if you stayed a while longer to bask in their glory."
"Dragon King jests," Yu Shenfeng shook his head and replied, "If we were in Huaxia, perhaps that would be the case, but the situation in Kunlun Ruins is quite complex. In the smaller sects there, I could take on the role of a Supreme Elder, but in the larger sects, I am but an ordinary Elder, not at all conspicuous, like a wave in a river."
"Is that so?" Mu Jinyu murmured thoughtfully upon hearing this, recalling what Xiang Mantang had told him—that he had once broken into Kunlun Ruins, found Shen Cangsheng's sect, the Tianhe Sword Sect, killed Shen Cangsheng, and then left with his people.
The Tianhe Sword Sect should just be a medium-sized sect in Kunlun Ruins, right? But even with the strength Xiang Mantang had back then, he still didn't dare to openly confront them, indicating the complexity of Kunlun Ruins.
Thinking along these lines, Mu Jinyu then asked, "So, Master Yu, did you stay long in Kunlun Ruins? Do you know if there's any realm above the Divinity Transformation Realm?"
Since Yu Shenfeng had mentioned that with his strength, he could only serve as an average Elder in the larger sects within Kunlun Ruins, it was clear there were higher realms in existence there.
Therefore, Mu Jinyu, who had always been curious about the realms beyond the God Realm, took this opportunity to inquire of Yu Shenfeng.
Yu Shenfeng gently shook his head and said, "I didn't stay in Kunlun Ruins for long. After I contracted Cold Poison in the Extremely Cold Hell while searching for Spiritual Medicine, I left Kunlun Ruins to retire in Huaxia…"
As Yu Shenfeng spoke, a hint of resentment unconsciously flashed across his eyes.
Noticing this, Mu Jinyu's mind stirred, understanding that Yu Shenfeng's departure from Kunlun Ruins after contracting the Cold Poison was likely not as straightforward as it seemed. After all, with the richer cultivation resources in Kunlun Ruins, wouldn't treatment there be significantly better? Why would he choose to seek refuge on Yulong Snow Mountain, if not courting death?
He probably was forced to flee, chased all the way to Huaxia, which led him to seek life in death and take refuge on Yulong Snow Mountain. By chance, he discovered the hidden Dragon Vein there and decided to reside in seclusion.
Mu Jinyu didn't know if his speculation was true, and it wouldn't be appropriate to ask Yu Shenfeng outright. He decided to wait for a suitable opportunity to inquire further.
Master Yu suppressed that hatred, then continued, "However, I didn't stay in the Kunlun Ruins for long, but I also know the names of the subsequent realms!"
"Dragon King, if you want to understand, then I'll share with you."
"The martial arts realms in our Huaxia are divided into Mingjin, Dark Energy, and Energy Transformation, but in the Kunlun Ruins, there's no such division; they are all collectively considered the most rudimentary Body Refining Realm."
"In the Kunlun Ruins, Body Refining is the beginning of cultivation. A genius would take half a year, a mediocre person five years, a waste ten years to reach the peak. It's not like over here where most martial artists spend their elder years breaking through to Energy Transformation and then dare to call themselves Martial Arts Grandmasters, beaming with pride..."
As he spoke, Master Yu gave a self-deprecating smile, his expression tinged with a hint of sadness.
"But now, with the Spiritual Energy Revival, our situation here has improved considerably. I guess Energy Transformation Warriors won't have the nerve to call themselves Martial Arts Grandmasters anymore."
Shaking his head slightly, Master Yu didn't dwell on this topic, and continued, "What we call the supreme Nascent Soul Realm, God Realm, and Terrestrial Immortal are actually named 'Qi Refining and Spirit Transforming,' commonly known as the Divinity Transformation Realm, which is divided into nine layers!"
"And there are two more realms beyond that, named: Refining Spirit Returning to Void and Refining the Void to Merge with the Tao!"
"Eh?!" Mu Jinyu listened to Master Yu's words and felt these three realms sounded very familiar. He asked in surprise, "Aren't these the realms of the ancient Qi Cultivators? Is there also 'Refining Essence into Qi'?"
"Exactly," Master Yu nodded and said, "The Kunlun Ruins adhere to this set of cultivation rules. The initial Body Refining Realm was actually 'Refining Essence into Qi,' but it wasn't very efficient!"
"Therefore, someone started to improve 'Refining Essence into Qi' into 'Body Refining Realm,' urging cultivators to first forge their bodies to be sufficiently strong, full of Essence Qi, to better cultivate True Qi…"
After finishing, Master Yu looked at Mu Jinyu and said, "These are the cultivation realms I know of. Whether there are more beyond that, I'm not sure, maybe that's all there is?"
With a wry smile, Master Yu added, "Now you should understand why I said that with my strength, I might have many people in Huaxia begging me to stay at their place, but in the Kunlun Ruins, I'm really nothing; even cultivating in a good Heaven Cave Blessed land would cost quite a few Spirit Stones, right?"
"Refining Spirit Returning to Void, Refining the Void to Merge with the Tao…" Mu Jinyu mumbled a few words, then snapped back to reality, looked at Master Yu, and said, "Thank you, Master Yu, for enlightening me today. You shouldn't belittle yourself. Your ability to cultivate to such an extent in Huaxia is testament enough to your great aptitude. It's just that you were a bit unlucky in the Kunlun Ruins. Otherwise, you would have been a prominent figure there by now!"
As he spoke, Mu Jinyu gently shook the Jade Purifying Bottle in his hand and said, "It's an honour for you to stay on Yinlong Mountain, so how could I accept rent from you? Please don't embarrass me with this talk in the future. However, I do indeed need this Jade Purifying Bottle to contain the Dragon Resentment Evil Poison. When I find a suitable storage item in the future, I will return it to you then."
"That's fine. I don't want to fight over these things," Master Yu shrugged indifferently.
Giving the Jade Purifying Bottle to Mu Jinyu was initially a gesture of goodwill towards him, allowing Mu Jinyu to store the Dragon Resentment Evil Poison. Whether Mu Jinyu would acquire more magic treasures and return the bottle to him in the future was inconsequential now.
Seeing Master Yu not refuse, Mu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, then with a smile, he said, "Master Yu, now let me show you the true Feng Shui layout of Yinlong Mountain!"