Chapter 2 The Virtual Land (1/2)
”The giant, giant tree talks?!” Lyu Liang trembled as he gazed at the tree. No matter what, he was certain that the noise came from the giant tree behind him.
”Eh, why is it a mortal child this time? Tsk tsk, this is interesting!” A one-eyed giant walked out from the tree. It was thirty feet tall and was curiously sizing Lyu Liang up.
”A monster? An immortal? It looks...looks so scary!” Lyu Liang reacted at once. He recalled how he greeted the adults usually and hurriedly did a fist and palm salute before he greeted, ”Senior Immortal, I am Lyu Liang. I am unsure how I've arrived here. Please be kind and send me home.”
”Lad, do you think this is a place where you can come and go anytime you want? Do you know how many people want to come in here but they can't? The Virtual Realm appears once every two thousand years. Once a person enters, the realm will automatically be sealed. No one can find this place except for the person who entered it! Even if you don't want to be here now, others can't enter here as well!” The giant sounded helpless and added, ”Moreover, the Master had passed on his skills to you. The Five-element Bead and ”Xuanyuan Skill” will only return to this realm when you died. At the same time, this realm will disappear again. It would probably appear after several hundred years later for the next destined person.”
”But my father doesn't know I am here. He will be panicked!” Lyu Liang was scared and anxious. If he couldn't return, his father would be worried! However, he was also afraid that the giant would beat him to death if it wasn't happy with him!
”Leaving this place isn't impossible, but not at your current state. If you wish to leave, then build a mental relationship with this realm. The way to do that is to tame the stele located on the fifth floor of the Training Tower. Of course, that's when you have the ability to reach there,” the giant said patiently, ”The time spent in the Virtual Realm is half of the time outside. In other words, if you stay here for ten years, it is equivalent to five years outside. Moreover, you've had the support of the five elements beads. If you cultivate fast enough, the actual time passed won't be long.”
His father did not allow him to cultivate, yet he would not be able to see his father without cultivating... Lyu Liang hesitated for a short while before he had a plan. He pledged while clasping his hands, ”I will cultivate! Immortal, please teach me!”
”Stop addressing me as an immortal. I am just another spirit in the realm. You can address me as a senior. Since you've thought about it, I should also provide you with some guidance.” Seeing that Lyu Liang was more certain of what he wanted, the giant felt contented as well. He continued, ”This is an independent space created by Master. We called it 'Virtual Realm'. Cultivation requires you to absorb the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth, and transforms it for your own use. The density of the Primordial Qi shall determine its standard. For example, the density of the Primordial Qi in the realm belongs to a Heavenly Realm standard. The one you find in the Mortal Realm is never comparable with the one in this realm.”
”Take human as an example. As a mortal being, you need to undergo several levels, namely Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Gold Core, Nascent Soul and Void Return. After you've successfully reached Void Return, you'll need to survive the ordeal before becoming an immortal. If you failed, you'll die. In addition, you need to know that there're four stages in each level, which are Early-stage, Middle-stage, Late-stage and Peak. After reaching the Peak of each level, you may proceed to the next level.” The Land Spirit took a look at Lyu Liang before it slowly said, ”Not everyone can cultivate. The basic condition for cultivation is to possess the appropriate Spiritual Root or special constitution. Besides the five most common Spiritual Roots in this world, namely the mental, wood, water, fire and earth, there were other additional or exotic ones. It's very rare to find people that possess such special constitution. They are usually the geniuses in cultivation.”
”'Xuanyuan Skill' contains 'Xuanyuan Mantra', created by Master. This mantra can produce a powerful soul and help hide one's cultivation aura. It is the highest level among all other skills in the world!” The Realm Spirit's tone became exceptionally serious when it mentioned the master.
”Senior, about the master you've mentioned, who is he? Where is he? Which level is he in now?” Lyu Liang asked. He was curious about this legendary character as well.
”My master is the creator of the Virtual Land. As for his level, it's not something you can know now. You only need to know the existence of the Immortal Level was nothing when compared to my master,” the Land Spirit said arrogantly, but its eyes darkened shortly after and he mumbled, ”It's just that ten thousand years ago, Master went to the Sunset Kingdom in the Earth Realm and no one knew his whereabouts thereafter. He seemed to know that he won't be back soon, so he left his legacy here for the destined one to inherit it.”
”Let's talk about your cultivation instead. ”Xuanyuan Skill” has been imprinted in your soul. You may start your practice from rudiments of it. If you're unsure of anything, feel free to approach me. When you reach the Middle-stage and Peak of each level, you can choose a magic treasure of the corresponding level.” After which, the Land Spirit waved its hand and a long sword appeared in front of Lyu Liang. At the same time, a house appeared thirty feet away from the giant tree. It added, ”I'll give you this sword for your Qi Refining cultivation. This is to help you in practising swordsmanship. As for the house, you can live there from now on.”
”Let me introduce this place to you first. We're currently in the middle of the land. Towards the east is the Training Tower. It's ten-story high, which contains puppets refined by Master. The higher the story, the tougher the puppets. There's a round plate on the Training Tower door. When you wish to enter the tower, place your hand on the plate and it can automatically detect your cultivation level. As such, the puppets you face in the tower will be suitable for your level.
”Towards the west is the Rare Treasure Hall. It contains all the magic treasures and exotic items that Master has collected over the years. If you've successfully passed the Training Tower, you're able to pick your reward from there. As for other magic treasures, you can own them if you're lucky enough to become Master's disciple.”
”Towards the north is the Elixir-refining Room. First of all, you don't have the Spirit Grass and secondly, you have no refining skills, so you can forget about going in for now. All right, it's time for you to take a look at your house.” The Land Spirit walked into the tree the moment it finished its sentence.
”Senior, what about the path towards the south?” It was normal for a twelve-year-old child to be curious and this was no exception for Lyu Liang as well.
The Land Spirit was about to step into the tree when it shuddered upon hearing his words. It stared sternly at Lyu Liang and said, ”The path to the south is a forbidden ground. It's also a ground of opportunity. Before you're certain that you're the destined one, don't even think about going in there!”