2: Chapter 2 Initial Understanding of Realms

Lin Muchen's consciousness was still immersed in his Dantian, staring blankly at that gray and defeated Origin Star.

The information the System just provided was simply too overwhelming.

Dantian Universe? Exchanging points? The entire world helping me Cultivate?

This cheat is simply beyond ridiculous—it's like Outrageous's mother opening the door for Outrageous; it's outrageous to the extreme.

Just as he was wondering how to get those 50 base points today, the System's voice rang out again.

[Detected that the Host has a severe lack of understanding of the current world.]

[Beginning transmission of basic information: The cultivation System of this world.]

Lin Muchen was taken aback.

"Cultivation System? I know a bit about that; it's in the original body's memories—the Qi Refinement Stage, right?"

[The original body's understanding is one-sided and incorrect.]

[This world is not a single dimension, but a grand structure of 'Three Realms and Nine Domains, the Stacked Heavens'.]

"What?" Lin Muchen was a bit dazed. "Three Realms and Nine Domains? What does that mean?"

[Information flow transmission beginning.]

A stream of cold information was poured directly into Lin Muchen's brain.

His vision blurred as countless words, images, and concepts flooded in like a tide.

Mortal Realm.

Qi Refinement Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Condensing Liquid Stage, Gang Refinement Stage, Mystic Communication Stage, Skyward Stage, Nirvana Stage, Void Tempering Stage, Mahayana Stage, Ascension Stage.

Mortal Realm Universe.

Stardust Realm, Star Core Realm, Star Orbit Realm, Star Vault Realm, Planetary Realm, Stellar Realm, Galactic Realm, Star Cluster Realm, Star Domain Realm, Star Realm Realm, Universal Realm.

Divine Realm.

God Realm (Lower God, Middle God, Upper God), God General Realm, God King Realm, God Sovereign Realm, Divine Venerable Realm, Divine Saint Realm, God Emperor Realm, Ancient God Realm, True God Realm, Supreme God Realm.

Immortal Realm.

Human Immortal Realm, Earth Immortal Realm, Heavenly Immortal Realm, Golden Immortal Realm, Profound Immortal Realm, True Immortal Realm, Immortal Lord Realm, Immortal King Realm, Immortal Sovereign Realm, Immortal Venerable Realm, Immortal Saint Realm, Immortal Emperor Realm.

Except for the God Realm, which is divided into lower, middle, and upper ranks, all other Realms consist of nine levels.

Lin Muchen lay on the bed, staring blankly at the thatched roof, his mind a complete void.

It took quite a while before he managed to snap out of it.

"System," his voice was a bit dry, "everything you just said... is it all true?"

[Factually accurate.]

"So many Realms?" Lin Muchen counted on his fingers. "Over forty major Realms? And each divided into nine levels?"

[Correct.]

"My level one Qi Refinement Stage..." Lin Muchen's lip twitched, "doesn't even count as a starting point. At most, I'm just a... watchdog at the entrance of the novice village?"

[The metaphor is imprecise, but the logic is correct.]

[Host's current cultivation: Mortal Realm · Qi Refinement Stage (Level 1/9).]

[Within the complete cultivation System, you are at the absolute bottom.]

Lin Muchen took a deep breath.

He originally thought that Transmigration to a cultivation world, binding a System, and nurturing a world in his Dantian was already outrageous enough.

Now the System was telling him that the level of absurdity in this world was far greater than he had imagined.

How long would it take to finish Cultivating all that?

"System," Lin Muchen asked, "these Realms... has anyone ever walked the entire path?"

[In recorded history, none.]

[But theoretically feasible.]

"Theoretically..." Lin Muchen smiled bitterly. "Then to what extent can this Dantian Universe of mine help me?"

[The miniature Universe and the Host's cultivation have a two-way linkage.]

[Every time the Host breaks through a dimension, the Dantian Universe will evolve simultaneously.]

Lin Muchen felt his heart rate accelerate.

One person is a world.

Could that gray, defeated planet in his Dantian turn into a civilization spanning galaxies, a divine kingdom, or an Immortal domain in the future?

"What about the feedback?" he asked quickly. "The lifeforms in the Origin Star Cultivate and give one percent of their cultivation to me—will this ratio... always remain the same?"

[The base ratio remains unchanged.]

[However, as the Universe's level increases, the quality of the feedback will grow exponentially.]

[Example: One percent of Spiritual Qi fed back by a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator cannot be compared to one percent of Star Power fed back by a Star Vault Realm Cultivator.]

Lin Muchen understood.

It was like how one percent of a dollar and one percent of a building are both one percent, but are they the same?

"Also," he recalled the terms the System mentioned earlier, "'Three Realms and Nine Domains, the Stacked Heavens'? 'Realms as steps, strength as supreme'? These are..."

[Universal Laws of the Heavens.]

[First, Realm Suppression. When a high-dimensional Cultivator enters a lower dimension, their strength will be restricted, though they may use treasures or secret methods to weaken the restriction.]

[Second, the Law of Karma. High-level Cultivators who kill and seize treasures face stronger Karmic ties and are prone to retribution. Legacies are linked to Realm, talent, and Opportunity.]

Lin Muchen nodded.

He understood this; novels always wrote it this way—high-level accounts can't just go to the novice village to bully newbies, or they'll face heavenly punishment.

"So for now," he asked, "I should just stay honestly in this 'Mortal Realm'? Which power does the Qinglan Sect... belong to?"

[The Qinglan Sect is one of the Seven Righteous Sects of the Mortal Realm's Central Continent.]

[Current power landscape of the Mortal Realm: The Seven Righteous Sects, the Three Demonic Palaces, the Five Neutral Factions, and the Ten Great Dynasties coexist and balance each other alongside the Loose Cultivator Alliance and Hidden Families.]

One of the Seven Righteous Sects.

Lin Muchen made a note of it.

The original body's memories didn't contain much about the Sect's upper echelons, only that the Qinglan Sect was quite large and had some reputation in the Central Continent.

Now it seemed that it was more than just 'some reputation'—it was one of the heavyweights of the Righteous Path.

"System," Lin Muchen was silent for a moment before asking, "are you telling me all this so that I... can be mentally prepared?"

[Correct.]

[The road ahead is long; the Host needs clear goals.]

[Current primary goal: Survive in the Qinglan Sect's Zayiyi, accumulate points, develop the Origin Star, and increase cultivation.]

[Warning: The miniature Universe is the Host's greatest secret and must never be exposed. Until you possess sufficient ability to protect yourself, you must remain absolutely low-profile.]

Lin Muchen smiled.

"I get it," he said, "'possessing a jade ring becomes a crime.' I'm just a level one Qi Refining Menial Servant right now; any random Outer Sect Disciple could crush me to death. How would I dare to show off?"

He cast his consciousness back toward the Origin Star in his Dantian.

A gray planet, a deathly silent void.

But at this moment, in his eyes, this planet was no longer desolate.

Plants would grow there, insects and ants would multiply, civilizations would be born, and the fires of the stars would be lit.

Ultimately, it would become a vast Universe spanning the heavens.

And the starting point for all of this was today.

"System," Lin Muchen said, "points are settled daily at the Zi hour, right?"

[Correct.]

"Then right now," he sat up from the bed, "it's time for me to get to work."

Utility Disciples had tasks every day; failure to complete them resulted in deductions from their monthly allowance, and serious cases led to punishment.

The original body was often docked because of low cultivation and slow work, leaving him with pitifully few cultivation resources.

But things were different now.

Lin Muchen put on his gray cloth clothes and picked up the broom in the corner.

He had to survive, get today's 50 points, exchange them for the first bag of weed seeds, and throw them into the Origin Star.

He would let that deathly silent planet grow its first touch of green.

[Ding—]

The System notification sounded.

[Daily points settlement mechanism has been activated.]

[Today's base points: 50 (Pending settlement).]

[Additional point acquisition methods: Completing menial tasks, Cultivating, exploration, etc.]