Ascension of the Forsaken

Chapter 8: Cultivation

Kael sat cross-legged on the forest floor, the faint hum of energy surrounding him as he absorbed the cores harvested from the fallen beasts. There had been twenty-four creatures in total, leaving Kael with twelve cores to cultivate while the remaining twelve were entrusted to Jin Mu.

In mere minutes, Kael finished the process, feeling the rush of power surge through his meridians. Yet, to his surprise, his cultivation advanced by only a single level. He frowned, the realization settling in. Ordinarily, a dozen cores should have propelled him through multiple breakthroughs. But now, it seemed the resources required for each advancement had drastically increased.

His thoughts drifted to the core of the humanoid beast he had absorbed earlier. It had far surpassed the wolf-like creatures in both quality and quantity of Qi, yet while the wolves had enabled him to make three breakthroughs, the humanoid beast’s core had only granted him two.

The pattern was clear: his body demanded more—higher-quality resources to maintain the same pace of growth. The cores that had once fueled him with ease were now mere sparks to the raging fire of his cultivation.

Kael’s expression darkened slightly as he stood, brushing dirt from his clothing. He couldn’t rely solely on beast cores. If he wished to continue advancing at an unprecedented speed, he would need to acquire the more refined resources Jin Mu had spoken of.

Turning to the young cultivator, Kael’s sharp gaze locked onto him. “Where’s the closest town from here?”

Jin Mu pointed eastward. “About fifty kilometers in that direction. There’s a city called Thousand Roads city—a large hub for merchants and visitors year-round. You can find almost anything there, including an alchemy association branch, a branch representing the formation master guild as well as the martial arena which was backed by the city lords mansion and bussinesses owned by the various sects big or small.”

Kael nodded slowly, sinking into contemplation. Thousand Roads city… The name alone sounded promising. It wasn’t just a place where he could trade—it was a hub of opportunity. A place where he could handle any and all affairs, ranging from bartering for resources to laying the groundwork for whatever ambitions he might choose to pursue. But the thought of walking in unprepared gnawed at him. He couldn’t afford to be caught off guard. Not when this new world demanded strength at every turn.

Two immediate tasks sprang to mind. First, he would need more beast cores. They were a temporary solution, yes, but still useful for bolstering his strength in the short term as well as for the exchange for whatever currency or resources that could be acquired by such a method. Second, he needed knowledge—more than just the cursory information Jin Mu had already shared. He needed to arm himself with a full understanding of cultivation stages and the challenges that awaited him in a place like Thousand Roads city.

Kael’s gaze sharpened as he turned to Jin Mu. “Jin Mu, this question is long overdue,” he said, his voice calm but laced with authority. “Can you give me a breakdown of the various cultivation stages and what they entail? I’ve been cultivating blindly so far, and that’s dangerous.

Jin Mu nodded taking some time to gather his thoughts before talking. Cultivation is said to be about going against the heavens. In tor sects we are thought that the most important thing to have in cultivation even more that talent is a heart of cultivation willing to weather any storms and overcome any challenges without giving or losing sight of your goals. Cultivation begins at the body refining stage.

The body refining stage has 10 confirmed stages thought it's possible to break through to the qi condensation realm at the ninth stage of the body refining realm, which the vast majority of cultivators do. So in actuality the say the body refining realm has only nine stages. This stage involves using qi to temper your body, strengthen it and prepare it so that it can handle the strain of qi at the next realm of cultivation. Cultivators in this s stage can are able to use martial skills though all at the lowest black grade. After the body refining stage come the qi condensation stage. In this stage one opens their qi sea in the dantian allowing them to store qi for later use. It also has 10 stages but like the body refining most people ignore the tenth as only the most talented geniuses are able to achieve it. In this stage as you continue to break through the more your qi sea will expand and the greater the quantity of qi you would be able to store

After that is the foundation Establishment Realm which in theory also contains 10 stages in theory, but in practice only 9, because the higher the cultivation realm the more difficult it is to enter the 10 stage of the said realm.

Also, the more resources you would need as the increase is exponential. In this stage the cultivator refines and temper the qi within their dantian improving its quality and quantity over and over again until it reaches a stage of saturation where the qi within your dantian solidifies.

This leads to next stage which is the core formation realm or what some may refer to as the Golden core realm. Here the qi sea as well as, all the qi of the cultivator is used to fore a golden core.

The size and quality is dependent on the talent of the cultivator, the purity and quantity of their qi and resources available to the cultivator. The bigger the core and the deeper its golden sheen the greater the quantity of qi and the purity of qi available to the cultivator. The specifics you are better off understanding on your own after either breaking through or comprehending after acquiring a cultivation technique.

The next stages are the Nascent soul and soul transformation realms, and this stages I have little info on as those who reach such stages are the top of the current cultivation world.