After thinking for a few minutes, Xi Chen continued reading.
'Mortal Realm can be crossed if you have enough resources. Even with a crooked technique.
Cultivators at Mortal realm can not absorb Qi from surrounding. They can only cultivate using edible treasures that includes pill, wild beast meat and spiritual herbs.
Next comes the Acquired Qi Realm.
In this Realm, a cultivator must focus on absorbing Qi from the world and forming a personal Qi cycle. It is an external to internal transformation. People will starts to draw external Qi from sun, moon, wind ,whatever and push it into their dantians.
Different cultivators refine different elemental attributes. These attributes can be general attributes like earth, fire, water, metal and wood. Or I can be mutated attributes like darkness, ice or light. It can also be rare attributes like wind and lightning.
Many people will not be able to attain this Realm. Only a few can attain it.
The Innate Qi Realm.
After establishing a stable Qi circulation path and gathered enough refined energy, one can prepare for innate transformation.
One must focus on transforming Acquired Qi into Innate Qi. It is an internalization and purification.
At this stage, the cultivator refines the Acquired Qi inside their body until it becomes Innate Qi —pure energy that belongs to the cultivators essence. This Realm marks the true separation between mortals and cultivators.
Qi becomes self-replenishing, to a limited extent.
Cultivators will open Qi nodes and meridian pathways.
The innate energy strengthen the mind and spirit, not just the body.
Lifespan will increases from this point.
Then comes the True Qi Realm
When an Innate cultivator fully internalize Qi as a part of the cultivators being, forming a true connection to the heavens and earth.
Then one can attempt to breakthrough to True Qi Realm.
Consolidation and projection of True Qi is the main focus of this Realm. It is the manifestation of internal power to the world.
At this stage, Innate Qi evolves into True Qi, a refined and stabilized form of spiritual energy that can be shaped, projected, and weaponized. This is where cultivators begin to show overt supernatural abilities.
A key trait of this stage is, cultivators can fly in the air. But not for too long.
To breakthrough to each realms one much have a treasure that has abundant spiritual energy or must be a place that produces lots of spiritual energy.
If the above requirements are not fulfilled. And you try to breakthrough forcefully on your own. Your body will be suck dry by your own dantian before you even know it. You can not stop the process once started.
This is how much I know.
Hope this helps you.'
With the last words, Xi Chen reached the end of the scroll.
So gave it back to the owner, who stashed the scroll under the table.
After thinking for a while, Xi Chen asked the stall owner his doubts. "The scroll contain many useful informations. Why do you share it?"
The owner without even lifting his head. "If you want to sell something here, you must first let the host of this market check it. And you must share things related to cultivation."
He added. "Of course, it is only for this kind of things. If you have combat skills or cultivation manuals, you can choose not to share it."
"OK.....What about realms after True Qi Realm? Where can I find information about that?" Xi Chen expressed his doubts.
The suddenly looked up with an expression like he had heard the biggest joke in his life and said to Xi Chen in a sarcastic tone. "The realms above True Qi Realm? Man you can not find it anywhere in Red Bull Kingdom. Even True Qi Realm experts are only available in Kingdom Capital City. What a joke. Realms above True Qi. Tch...."
"....."
Hearing the owner's words, Xi Chen showed an awkward face.
'Maybe I thought too much ahead of myself. I have not even reach the Acquired Qi Realm. How dare I think about True Qi Realm." Xi Chen mocked himself.
But he did not think it was impossible for him to reach True Qi Realm. He has something no one might have.
"Thank you for your services." Xi Chen bowed to the owner with his fist and left.
After he the stall, Xi Chen strolled around the market for a while. But he could not find anything useful that he could afford.
Dejected, Xi Chen bought some wild beast meat, not even half step Qi Beast meat. Then he left the market.
The stone steps closed behind Xi Chen with a muffled grind, sealing the underground market from the world above. No lanterns lit the forest path—only pale strands of moonlight filtered through the trees and bamboos, casting long shadows like fingers reaching across the dirt trail.
Xi Chen stepped out from under the crooked hill, clutching the cloth bundle to his chest. His worn boots made no sound on the leaf-strewn ground.
Inside the bundle: two pieces of deer thigh meat full of spiritual essence lay cold and dry in his grasp. It was all he could afford with his remaining 3 silver coins.
He brought 80 percent of his saving, that is 10 silver coins, from home. He paid 1 for entering, 6 for the informations and lastly, 3 for the two pieces of deer thigh.
He had passed rows of glowing pills, qi-infused herbs, and even an old beggar selling broken cultivation manuals. But all of them had price tags as high as mountains, and he.... was still in the valley.
"A man builds strength bite by bite," he murmured under his breath.
The forest was alive with whispers of the wind and distant call of owls.
Every few dozen steps, he stopped. Listened. Waited.
The Black market had no rules after you left. If someone saw what you bought—and wanted it—your body might be feeding the soil before dawn.
But tonight, he was beneath notice.
Just another poor soul with scraps.
-------
After nearly an hour later, he finally arrived at his own home.
His two siblings were still not asleep even though it was already passed midnight.
Seeing their big brother was fine, both the boys let out a relief sigh.
Xi Chen told all he could find to his brothers. Everything from power structures to realms.
When they digested all the informations, the trio went back to their respective rooms to sleep.