Yellow Court Daoist

At its height.

It was in the newly established cave dwelling of Lu Qingfeng where the 'Heart Monkey Swordsmanship' was demonstrated. It was like a dream, illusionary, truly extraordinary.

"Big brother."

"How is it?"

Qingyu stood after sheathing her sword, grabbing and emptying the wine pot in one gulp. The fiery drink scorched down her throat, turning her face a bright red, causing her to open her mouth and exhale: "Exhilarating!"

Yet, her gaze fixed on her big brother, waiting for his praise.

"Thunder God Sword Venerable."

"Heart Monkey Sword."

Lu Qingfeng nodded slightly and commended, "Indeed, this set of sword techniques is remarkable, and can already be considered a Super-level Sword Technique, though it has not yet reached Perfection. If it could be completed, perhaps it could attain the level of Divine Skills."

The Thunder God Sword Venerable is truly one of the sword practitioners with the most profound understanding of the Sword Dao among the Primordial Spirit True Ones of the Three Mountains and Nine Waters throughout history. The legacy he left, all self-created, though yet unrefined, already began to bloom gloriously.

"What about me?"

"In these thirty years of arduous cultivation, have I made Divine Speed progress?"

Qingyu listened to her big brother's praise, concerned mostly with the 'Heart Monkey Swordsmanship', felt displeased and asked again.

"Just one more step and you'll master this technique, reaching a realm of inferring other meanings from one fact. This would take a regular True Man two or three hundred years to achieve, but you've managed it in just thirty. You're already extraordinary; there's no need for my praise."

Lu Qingfeng couldn't help but laugh.

Qingyu was cultivating the 'Luofu Sword Scripture' he had passed down, a practice that, despite initially being of Side Door Level, had already attained the Supreme Level after his cultivation in the Primordial era.

In the mortal world, it would be the True Understanding of the Sword Dao that all sword cultivators dream of.

Encompassing endless profundities of the Sword Dao.

With this method as the foundation, practicing the myriad Sword Dao Techniques of the world, all becomes twice as effective.

Low-level and Middle-level sword techniques, casually mastered.

It was only because the 'Heart Monkey Sword' was a Super-level Sword Technique that it took Qingyu thirty years of hard work just to get started.

However, even so, this was more than many mortal True Men could achieve.

"Big brother, you flatter me!"

Qingyu, hearing her big brother's liberal praise, blushed even more. But while she modestly demurred with her words, her face and heart were filled with joy.

Seeing this, Lu Qingfeng worried that Qingyu might become complacent and shook his head, "In practicing magical techniques and Divine Skills, 'Ming Technique' is merely a start, beyond that are the 'Ding', 'Melt Body', 'Refining Essence', 'Domain Control' and other eight realms. You must not slack off."

"Tch! Tch!"

"There are so many realms?!"

The moment Qingyu heard this, she shivered. According to her big brother, she hadn't even thoroughly reached the First Layer realm; feeling astonished and somewhat unconvinced. Yet she always knew her big brother's temperament, that he wouldn't trick her. So, she quickly said, "Big brother, please tell me more."

Lu Qingfeng shook the wine pot, now empty.

Nonchalantly, he took out another pot from his Mustard Space, and Qingyu's gaze immediately fixed on it. Finding Qingyu shaking her empty pot and smiling at him, seeking his favor, Lu Qingfeng gave a wry laugh.

He handed over another pot of 'Great Sage Equalling Heaven' to Qingyu and, seeing her overjoyed, he began to explain—

"All cultivators' understanding and control of spells are divided into Nine Great Realms according to the depth of comprehension and the degree of control: Technique, Method, Body, Essence, Control, Domain, Intent, Spirit, Dao!"

"The First Layer 'Ming Technique' implies full mastery, knowing all the advantages and disadvantages of a Secret Technique by heart, never to be forgotten, capable of inferring a myriad of applications based on one. Depending on the cultivators' prowess, the Grade of their techniques, and their aptitude, it takes fifty to five hundred years to reach this realm. If it is a Divine Skill, it takes even longer. With poor comprehension or lack of opportunity, many spend their lifetimes without gaining entrance, abundantly common among cultivators.

Ming Technique.

It's just the beginning.

Lu Qingfeng mastered thousands of Techniques and Divine Skills, reaching over a hundred Great Divine Powers. Nearly all of them have been cultivated to this stage. Some were self-realized, others were facilitated by the Enlightenment Technique.

With thousands of Techniques forever in memory, he could harness their power.

However, one's energy is finite, and even with the Enlightenment Technique at his disposal, Lu Qingfeng mastered most techniques only to the First Layer.

"The First Layer is 'Ming Technique'."

"Yet, my 'Vajra Spell' is beyond that; I have already reached the Small Success Realm. Big brother, look over it for me, which of the Nine Layers Realm does it belong to?"

Qingyu was suddenly struck by inspiration.

Seated cross-legged on the ground with a long sword by his side, he clutched a white jade wine jug in one hand, while the other formed incantation gestures, as golden light surged from his body, exuding a divine presence as if protected by the Vajra guardians of the Daoist path. Gazing intently at Qingyu, one could see the fierce Vajra figures before and behind him, inspiring profound trepidation in the observer, discouraging any malevolent thoughts at a mere glance.

This was a method of self-protection that Lu Qingfeng had taught Qingyu earlier.

When Qingyu first began learning, he was in the Crying Swamp, and this 'Vajra Spell' was still a Middle-level Technique. Afterwards, when Lu Qingfeng entered the Xuanyuan Sect and Qingyu ventured out to undergo trials by himself, he practiced a Super-level version of the spell.

When Qingyu advanced to Core Formation,

Lu Qingfeng immediately transmitted the Divine Skills version to him.

Middle-level, Super-level, Divine Skills.

Continuing in this manner made it relatively easy for Qingyu to grasp each step. Now, as he cast the spell, he was in the midst of Core Formation, which could be touted as impervious to all laws and fearless of all evils. Even under a Primordial Spirit True One, it could withstand a blow or two.

Lu Qingfeng watched and nodded in approval, saying, "You have already deeply understood the essence of the 'Vajra Spell'. Taking yourself as the core, you've altered the spell to remove any trace of roughness, making your execution of the technique perfectly suited to you. This harmony between body and Dharma is in accordance with the natural way of the Heavenly Dao!"

"You have reached the 'Melt Body' state at the Third Realm, which can be described as Small Success!"

In the span of just two or three hundred years, Qingyu's practice of the 'Vajra Spell' at the Divine Power Level transcended the 'Ming Technique' and 'Domain Control' stages, directly attaining the Third Realm 'Melt Body', a realm indicative of Small Success. Even with prior experience in Middle and Super-level techniques, her ability to comprehend this level in such a short period underscored her diligent cultivation.

"Only at the Third Level?"

Qingyu's eyes widened in disbelief.

This 'Vajra Spell' was a defensive Divine Power, and among the four Divine Skills—offense, defense, evasion, and the extraordinary—she received from her elder brother, it was the one she dedicated herself to the most diligently.

Having worked hard for so many years, she had assumed she had reached a very high level.

To her surprise, it was regarded by her elder brother as merely the beginning.

"It is already very commendable; there's no need to belittle yourself,"

Lu Qingfeng quickly added, hoping not to discourage Qingyu, "Low-level and Middle-level Techniques are simplistic and straightforward, and most spells lack depth, failing to distill their essence, making it impossible to achieve the 'Refining Essence' Domain at the Fourth Level.

Even with profound understanding, one might only reach the Ming Technique and Domain Control realms.

Yet your practice of the 'Heart Monkey Swordsmanship', a Super-level Technique with fair potential, is unfortunately still incomplete. With such practice, you could, at best, attain the 'Domain Control' realm at the Fifth Level. Due to its incomplete nature, it's difficult to extract its True Intent, and hence challenging to reach the 'True Understanding' Domain at the Sixth Level.

By cultivating the 'Vajra Spell' to the Third Level 'Melt Body' state, you have already surpassed ninety-nine percent of True Men in this world."

The truth is,

Most practitioners of Super-level Techniques, besides the creators of such techniques themselves, usually reach at most the Fifth Level 'Domain Control', the Sixth Level 'True Understanding', or the Seventh Level 'Domain Control' realms.

Only the most elite and mysterious Super-level Techniques have the potential to achieve the Eighth Level 'Life Spirit' realm—

To comprehend the true intent of a technique, allowing one's understanding of the technique to gradually foster the awakening of a heart for the spell, turning the spell into a living entity; from nonexistence to existence, from the heart controlling the technique to the technique acquiring its own spirit!

This is the 'Life Spirit' realm.

At this juncture, a technique can be said to have reached 'Perfection'.

Lu Qingfeng, having practiced various techniques and Divine Powers to date, had yet to achieve this level with any single technique. The closest he had come were the 'Five-Colored Divine Light' and the 'Inverted Void Glazed Glass Wall', two of the Great Divine Powers.

Yet the former was stuck at the Sixth Level 'True Understanding', lacking the essence of the Five Elements for true comprehension.

The latter reached the 'Domain Control' Domain at the Fifth Level, bringing forth the thirty-eight layers of the Glazed Glass Wall, capturing the essence of the spell and merging it with the "Twelve Heavenly Demon God Skill", complementing them.

Its power was greatly enhanced.

Yet even so, it was still far from the Eighth Level 'Life Spirit' realm.

It couldn't even be considered to have reached Great Success.

"Then the Ninth Layer—"

Listening to her elder brother describe the nine realms of mastery over techniques, Qingyu was enlightened and couldn't help but inquire further.

"The Ninth Layer, 'Attainment of the Dao'."

"From technique one comprehends the Dao, diving into the Heaven and Earth Laws, mastering the Supreme Dao, attaining endless longevity!"

Lu Qingfeng's eyes also held a sense of longing, "This is a realm that can only be achieved through 'Divine Skills'. Beyond 'Perfection' lies the Dao. Once achieved, one becomes an immortal on the spot, realizing the Earth Immortal Dao Fruit, henceforth enjoying eternal life and supreme freedom!"

To summarize:

Ming Technique, Domain Control, Melt Body, Refining Essence, Domain Control, True Understanding, Domain Control, Life Spirit, Attainment of the Dao.

These are the Nine Realms of technique!