I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ji Tian glanced down at his white coat, which was now wrinkled like a rag, and gave up on the idea of ​​saving him.

Well then, I'll try to use my newly acquired Nascent Soul Divine Power to revert the state of the clothes later.

"Are you done crying?"

"……Um."

"Can I let go now?"

"...Wait a little longer."

Ji Tian didn't urge her. His gaze fell on the darkening horizon outside the window, and his divine sense vaguely sensed that something big was about to happen here.

Of course, this poses no threat to him, who has already entered the "tape period".

It's a pity. I played too cautiously in the early stages and didn't have any enemies I couldn't deal with on the spot. After entering the Nascent Soul stage (the tape stage), besides the joy of getting closer to the Great Dao, I also felt a bit of regret, like "drawing my sword and looking around with a blank mind"...

After a while, Lilith finally pulled away from his embrace, lowered her head, and wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve.

Her eyes were swollen and red like two small peaches, her nose was red, and there were marks on her face from her robe.

She didn't dare look at Ji Tian, ​​only staring at her toes, her voice muffled:

"Master, where...where have you gone?"

"Transcending tribulation."

"Tribulation?" Lilith looked up, tears still glistening in her purple eyes. Her expression shifted from aggrieved to confused. "What is that?"

Ji Tian thought for a moment and decided to explain it in a way she could understand—to be precise, to "translate" the cultivation system of this world using cultivation theory.

"The path of cultivation emphasizes refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness. The magic of your world is essentially a different way of taking the same path—it's just that you cultivate the 'external path,' while we cultivate the 'internal path.'"

"Outer path? Inner path?" Lilith was completely confused.

"Foolish, didn't I already say that? The external path borrows the power of heaven and earth, while the internal path cultivates one's own cauldron." Ji Tian stretched out his right hand, a ball of golden spiritual energy appearing in his palm, slowly rotating. "You mages absorb magical essence into the magical energy circuit, transform it, and release it—that's 'borrowing.' As for me, I guide spiritual energy into my dantian, using my body as a furnace and my divine sense as the fire, refining the spiritual energy into my own—that's 'refining.'"

Lilith blinked, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"So, you went to undergo that tribulation... because of what?"

"Heavenly Tribulation," Ji Tian explained solemnly. "Heaven and earth are flawed, and the righteous path is difficult to follow. But the way of heaven has its own balance—when you cultivate to the point where you can break through the shackles of mortals, heaven and earth will send down a test: lightning tribulation to temper the body, and inner demons to refine the spirit. If you pass through it, you will transcend the mortal realm; if you fail to pass through it, you will perish both in body and spirit."

He paused, then added, "However, the 'Heavenly Dao' of this world is incomplete and will not send down tribulations on its own. Therefore, I summon lightning tribulations to strike me and summon inner demon tribulations to refine me, following the standard procedure for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage under the condition that the Heavenly Dao is complete."

Lilith's mouth opened and closed, closed and opened.

She felt that her master's cultivation method was probably unique in the world.

"So... what level are you at now?" she asked. "How much stronger are you than before?"

Ji Tian beckoned and grabbed the broken branch that had fallen to the ground from her, then twirled it in his hand.

"There are countless paths to immortality, and I currently cultivate a semi-traditional path of mortal cultivation. In my system, the cultivation realms, from lowest to highest, are: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. As for higher realms, I haven't reached them yet; I'll tell you when I do..."

Actually, he originally wanted to follow the example of Han Tianzun and take the path of mortal cultivation to become an immortal. However, storage rings in this world were too expensive, and he was too embarrassed to ask others for money. So, he had a flash of inspiration and first cultivated a Purple Mansion for storage, which he called the Purple Mansion Realm.

As for how to explain it?

What a joke! In this world, I alone am the immortal, and all interpretations belong to me, Ji Tian. Once I reshape the Heavenly Dao, this will be the orthodox path of cultivation in this world!

A faint golden light emanated from his fingertips, and fine runes appeared on the surface of the tree branches.

"Qi cultivation is equivalent to your beginner or intermediate level magicians. They can conjure a fireball or a water bomb, and barely draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth into their bodies."

"Foundation Building is equivalent to a Grand Mage. The most direct manifestation is the ability to fly using magical artifacts, but you rely on magic power circulation, which continuously consumes magic power during flight, like using a cup to scoop water to water the ground—laborious and unsustainable. We cultivators of the Inner Path, on the other hand, move by controlling our Qi, and our spiritual power is inexhaustible."

Lilith nodded repeatedly, though she wasn't sure if she understood.

"The Purple Mansion corresponds to a Magister. One can open up the Purple Mansion sea of ​​consciousness within the body and use spatial abilities, such as storage or teleportation."

Lilith suddenly looked up: "You mean your 'Minor Teleportation Spell'?"

"Almost. However, my Minor Teleportation Technique has been improved. It uses divine sense to locate and spiritual power to break through boundaries, making it more precise and covering a wider range than your spatial magic," Ji Tian boasted without changing his expression.

"The Golden Core should correspond to a Grand Magister, since I've only ever fought that dragon, which was equivalent to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. With the Golden Core formed, supernatural powers arise. One can independently unleash what you call 'forbidden spells' and also begin to touch upon the laws of heaven and earth."

"The early stage of the Nascent Soul realm must correspond to that legendary archmage. I wonder how it would fare in a fight with my current level..."

With a thought, the broken branch in his hand began to sprout and grow, and in the blink of an eye, it became a sapling without roots.

"What kind of power is this?" Lilith was somewhat shocked.

In this world, destruction is far easier than creation. Archmages can unleash forbidden spells, while "creation" in demon legends is the ability to create everything, a power possessed only by omniscient and omnipotent demon gods.

Although the saplings in front of us are more accurately described as being induced to grow faster, a similar effect can be achieved with just water, soil, and light, but it wouldn't be as quick.

Looking at the sapling in front of him, Ji Tian was also stunned. He did not expect that the vitality of the Nascent Soul stage was so useful, as if it was the prototype of grasping some kind of power.

It seems that the Nascent Soul stage in this world is stronger than I imagined.

"At the Nascent Soul stage, the Nascent Soul resides in the Purple Mansion, and the divine soul is indestructible. Even if the physical body is destroyed, it can be rebuilt; lifespan is greatly increased, starting at a thousand years; after death, the Nascent Soul does not dissipate, and the corpse automatically transforms into a seal, which kills any ordinary person who touches it."

He could sense that the life force and death energy contained within the nascent soul would become unbalanced after the death of the physical body, forming a cursed domain like the "Five Signs of Decay of the Celestial Being," until he was resurrected.

"Then..." Lilith lowered her head, staring at the rootless sapling, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself, "Can Master still be considered human now?"

Ji Tian glanced at her.

He had never considered this question before. Before his tribulation, he pursued power, the Dao, and "unrivaled dominance throughout the ages." He saw himself as a weapon being forged—polished, tempered, and hammered, all to become sharper.

As for whether he's still considered human? He doesn't care.

In some online novels, the highest level of cultivation allows one to "transform into other forms" and "transform into mountains and seas." For the sake of the Great Dao, what does it matter if one is no longer human?

But it's different now.

He looked at his newly grown, fair and jade-like fingers, felt the spiritual energy flowing through his body that was warmer than ever before, and saw the expressionless, childlike figure sitting upright in his Purple Mansion.

"I guess so," he finally said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "but...it's a little different now."

"What's different?"

"Before, I thought 'human' was just a shell. To become stronger, I had to break through that shell. Now..." He paused, "I've discovered that even with the shell broken, what's inside is still human."