Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Whether it was because he was flying high or because he was holding the dried fruit, Ning Che soon felt his strength failing him.

The feeling was like fatigue, but not quite the same as overwork. He didn't have sensations like backache or muscle soreness; he was just aware that his movement and thinking speed were slowing down.

He hadn't expected this feeling of powerlessness to come so suddenly, without warning, and beyond the reach of willpower. He could only slowly descend back to the dilapidated palace, finding the best-preserved half of the main hall to rest.

He wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or passed out; he only knew that after landing in a corner of the remaining hall, his thoughts became very sluggish and he could hardly think. After adjusting his position and lying on the ground, he lost consciousness a few moments later.

Before him, the well water reflected the fiery sunset and his face, as if there had never been a moon, and everything that had just happened was nothing but his delusion.

Ning Che paused for a moment, then looked at his hand.

Sure enough, I saw that bluish-purple dried fruit.

He briefly showed a look of joy, then turned to look at Shi Xiujuan. Just as he was about to ask her a question, he felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and the world spinning around him.

The exhaustion of his soul did not dissipate in the Moon Palace. Unable to hold on any longer, he used his last strength to stagger two steps in the opposite direction of the well and fall to his side.

……

When he woke up again, he was lying back in the room where he had first awakened. Shi Ying sat beside him, her profile shifting with the flickering light of the oil lamp, the painted patterns seeming to writhe and come to life.

She was drawing unknown symbols on the animal hide when she noticed Ning Che had woken up. Her voice was cold as she spoke directly: "Is your illness still not fully cured? If you're not feeling well, I'll take you to the city to see a doctor—don't worry, I've already sent your mother home."

"No." Ning Che sat up, subconsciously rubbing the dried fruit in his palm. After a moment's thought, he explained:

"After I got there, I suddenly had some insights, like I could control my soul. I found it novel and let it leave my body and wander around, but after a while I felt very tired, and I don't know how my soul returned to my body, and then I fainted."

Shi Ying's face, which seemed unfazed even by the collapse of Mount Tai, finally showed a change of expression. She scrutinized Ning Che as if he were some rare species: "You mean, you haven't learned cultivation, but you've already learned how to travel with your spirit?"

Ning Che was somewhat confused: "Does this 'spirit's journey' mean the soul leaving the body?"

Shi Ying explained, "Normally, a person's soul cannot leave the body. Some evil spells capture a person's soul, making them unable to think or do anything."

Only those cultivators who achieve something in this process can refine their soul. Reaching the point where they can actively leave their body is called "spiritual travel," which is further divided into two levels: Yin spirit and Yang spirit.

When the three souls and seven spirits are condensed into a unified whole, capable of leaving the physical body, this is the Yin Spirit. Those who can allow their Yin Spirit to travel are all renowned masters in their respective regions. As for the Yang Spirit, that is a legendary realm of great power, and I have no idea what level it reaches.

After Shi Ying finished speaking, she looked at Ning Che with a complicated expression.

Ning Che was somewhat puzzled: "If the soul isn't refined into a Yin spirit, is it absolutely impossible for it to leave the body?"

Shi Ying thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I've never heard of a soul being able to leave the body on its own. Moreover, a person's soul is fragile. Unless there is enough Yin energy or an extremely strong obsession, without the protection of a physical body, even a slight breeze is enough to blow the soul away."

Yin energy, the moon, the moon is also called Taiyin...

Ning Che understood half of it: although he still didn't know why his soul could leave his body, the fact that his soul could travel outside without ending up scattered must be due to the moon.

However, speaking too frankly with someone you don't know well can be harmful, so he carefully considered offering another guess: "Perhaps it has something to do with that old stone pillar. Is that a good thing?"

Shi Ying frowned, pondered for a while, and then said, "If there are no consequences, it's a good thing, but it's not very useful."

Ning Che didn't hide his unease: "I hope there won't be any consequences—how will this help my cultivation? If I want to achieve spiritual insight through meditation, will it be easier because I can leave my body?"

"It's not impossible." Shi Ying paused, then advised, "But I still suggest you use a safer method. Since you have such an opportunity, I believe the Shi family is willing to provide a spiritual item, betting that you can soar to great heights."

Mentioning the Shi family brought back some memories for Ning Che.

Shi Jingxing, Shi Jingming… the young masters and ladies of the Shi family, dressed in fine clothes, made no attempt to hide their arrogance, looking down on Ning Che, a member of their clan from the countryside. Even the servants and lackeys of the Shi family dared to be haughty and openly criticize them to their faces.

As the scenes flashed through his mind, anger surged. But Ning Che had grown accustomed to it, remaining calm and composed as he simply asked, "Are there many levels of cultivators? At what level does one need to cultivate to be considered to have soared to the heavens?"

Shi Ying patiently continued to explain to him: "Different paths have different sequences. Just like climbing the same mountain, taking different routes, the scenery along the way and the places you stop will all be different."

My path follows the visualization lineage of the Shi family. It involves seated meditation, introspection, concentrating one's thoughts, and ultimately manifesting totems. If one can cultivate to a level equivalent to manifesting totems, one can be considered a master.

Ning Che didn't hide his curiosity: "Manifested totems, are there more?"

"Of course," Shi Ying said, momentarily lost in thought. "Inscribing divine runes, comprehending supernatural powers, entering and exiting the azure sky, summoning wind and rain... these are all just rumors to me. The visualization method the Shi family gave me didn't include the latter part."

Ning Che, with his coat still on, sat up and asked, "Will all paths lead to the same summit? If different paths lead to the same altitude, does that mean they represent comparable levels of cultivation?"

Shi Ying nodded first, then shook her head and slowly said, "If one can truly reach the end of cultivation, one will eventually reach the peak of the same mountain. At that point, although there will still be slight differences in each person's realm, they will no longer be able to distinguish between high and low. That is the ultimate that the human body and soul can reach, hence it is called the 'Summit of Humanity'."

Before reaching this level, the depth of one's cultivation can be compared to the height of a mountain, and there are many ways to detect a person's cultivation level.

The Great Xia Dynasty then divided cultivators into nine ranks based on their cultivation level, with the first rank being the most prestigious and the ninth rank the lowest. Shi Yong and I were both in the ninth rank. The village chief was once an eighth-rank cultivator, but although he later fell from his rank for some reason, the official certification from the Great Xia Dynasty was not revoked.

However, this nine-rank system only considers the physical strength of one's cultivation, and cannot be confused with the realm of cultivation. It's like comparing a farmer and a hunter. Can you say that a farmer who harvests a thousand catties of grain a year is completely equivalent to a hunter who hunts a thousand catties of meat a year? It is precisely for this reason that many sects and great schools with thousands of years of history do not follow this nine-rank system at all.

There is no universally applicable order to the path of cultivation; it is simply a matter of each person cultivating their own method and attaining their own path. Take my visualization method, for example. Even if I cultivate to the point of manifesting a sixth-grade totem, it is still not as mysterious and unpredictable as your ability to travel as a spirit.

Conversely, while I dare not speak of anything too advanced, even if you cultivate your Yin Spirit to the sixth or even fifth rank, you certainly won't be as adept as I am at communicating with deities.

Ning Che finally had a general understanding of cultivators. He folded the blankets, tucked the dried fruit close to his body, and stood up to ask his last question: "If I demonstrate this special ability and get the Shi family to invest, will I be subject to their control?"

Shi Ying clearly had a deeper understanding of the Shi family, and answered without hesitation: "Yes."

Ning Che was not surprised, thanked him, and left.

The road was bathed in clear light, and he looked up.

The moon in this world seemed unremarkable, merely a crescent hanging among the stars. He gripped the dry fruit in his hand, withdrew his gaze, and headed straight home.

Inside, Shi Xiujuan's room was still lit, and Ning Che could hear her softly humming an unknown song. Ning Che hesitated for a moment, then temporarily put aside the matter of the moon.

Right now, the more urgent task is to begin cultivation and gain power.

He closed the door, returned to his bedroom, set aside the clutter, and sat on the edge of the bed. The threats of drought, beast tides, and the mountain guardian surged into his mind one after another, then subsided into silence.

Ning Che let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and chose to try to achieve spiritual enlightenment again.