Having finished dinner, Yun Dingxing was explaining the various details regarding cultivation to Tianlong.
"The world is rich with spiritual energy. While everyone can breathe it, most can neither sense it nor absorb it. Which is what differentiates cultivators from mortals.
"So unless one is born as an innate cultivator, they'll have to start physical training and Qi sensing meditation to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. As such, some people call them the Body tempering stage or Qi sensing stage.
"Once someone's training reaches a certain stage, their body, mind, and soul will be nourished by the spiritual energy. It will turn them into a vessel for spiritual energy and enable them to walk the path of cultivation!"
Yun Dingxing stopped, letting Tianlong process everything he had just said.
After a moment of silence, he said "The first realm of Qi refining is known as Qi condensation. Absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, one condenses spiritual vortexes in the 361 meridian acupoints. It opens the meridians and lets a cultivator absorb and store spiritual energy inside their body. It is divided into ten levels with 36 vortexes constituting a single level. Opening all of the vortexes would be known as the great circle of Qi condensation."
"Although it is just the first step, the people with blocked or weak meridians can never reach this step. Even among those who reach this step, unless they have exceptional spirit affinity, they are bound to stay in this step for decades. Though it's a different question if you are packed with spirit stones…
"An average cultivator may spend anywhere from five-six years to a few decades in this stage. But if one can't complete this stage before the age of thirty, they might as well give up. Your mother completed this stage in just eleven months and spent three more months to reach the next stage – the Yin Yang Cleansing realm." Saying that he looked at his wife with a loving gaze.
Being praised by her husband, her cold face gained a tinge of red.
"Ahem!" Tianlong gave a dry cough.
Yun Dingxing cleared his throat and continued,
"Now that we know about Qi refining, let's talk about Body refining. While in theory both Body refining and Qi refining should hold the same amount of power, in reality, Body refiners are far stronger than their Qi refining counterparts.
"It can be contributed to the fact that body refiners need to indulge in lots of combat to temper themselves. As such, their foundations are extremely solid. Only a few exceptional Qi refiners like your mother can fight on equal grounds with them.
Tianlong seemed to understand something. His eyes glittered and he nodded.
"The primary stages of body refining requires refining the blood, flesh and bones. The corresponding stages are called Blood Surging realm, Diamond Carapace realm and Bone Sigil realm. Technically one can start with either of these realms, but most people start with blood or flesh refining.
"Just like how Qi refiners depend on spiritual Qi, we body refiners require blood energy to use our powers. As such, the first realm of body refining is called the Blood Surging stage. Refining one's blood will give them increased vitality, endurance, and regeneration.
"But if one's body is too frail, they can't handle the violent force of blood energy. Hence they need to enter the Diamond Carapace stage first and refine their muscle tissues with spiritual qi. Not only will it increase the strength of the body, but it would also give an extensive regeneration ability."
Finishing his small lecture, Yun Dingxing looked at his son and smiled.
Tianlong pondered on his father's words. "Dad, if we say that the meridians determine the talent of a Qi refiner, can we say that the bloodline is the key to body refining?"
"To answer this question, you'll need to understand the origin of the demon race. We are the descendants of immemorial fiendgods who were born from the primordial chaos. Each of them possessed strength that could overturn mountain and seas with a single thought. Being their descendants, most demonic races possess a high talent for refining the body.
"The bloodline among us is divided into five ranks: common, spirit, innate, royal, sacred, and ancestral blood. A royal-blooded demon can defeat another demon by pure bloodline suppression even if his opponent is one realm above him. The purer your blood, the higher your potential in cultivating."
"As such, the hierarchy among demons is heavily dependent on the bloodline. A demon who has high purity of blood will command respect even if he has a low cultivation base. So in a sense, you are right.
Yun Dingxing took a deep breath and looked at his son who was digesting this information.
"Mom, Dad, now that I have understood about the various stages, how should I progress from now on? I have interests in alchemy, formation, and martial path at the same time. Yet, it's impossible to do all at the same time." He said in a dejected tone.
"Looks like you have a misconception about martial practitioners." Long Qianmei who was silent till now, spoke for the first time. "Do you really think that martial cultivators are always engaged in conflict or cultivating? If that was the case, would I be sitting here with you?"
Tianlong wanted to say something, but couldn't find anything. He looked embarrassed.
Seeing felt that her son's actions were quite funny. "Well you don't need to be embarrassed, it's not just you who has that misconception.
"Cultivation requires dedication and practice, it cannot be rushed. And if there's we cultivators have an abundance of, it's time. Alchemy, forging, inscriptions, music whatever you want, you can pursue in your free time. Remember we are not war maniacs.
"Yeah, sure." Yun Dingxing looked at her and rolled his eyes.
Acting as if she didn't anything, she continued, "Sure, you might not be as good as someone who pursues the path of alchemy wholeheartedly. After all, their specialisation is on that subject. But know this that, these professions are built on top of a pile of resources. They require a huge amount of funding which forces them to submit and join some kind of organisation. All in all, they are dependent on others. Do you want to get bound to some organisation and stay cooped up there for decades maybe even centuries?
"No thanks, I prefer my freedom." He shook his head in denial.
She smiled at his answer. Of course, everyone would like their freedom. But despite being something so simple, how many could actually achieve it?
"Progressing in any form of cultivation requires abundant resources, which are mostly in the hand of big clans and sects, leaving only scraps for the rogue cultivators. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to associate with them."
Tianlong heaved a sigh.
Even before this conversation, he had already guessed it so.
"Since I'll have to deal with them sooner or later, can you tell me more about them?"
Taking a deep breath, she continued in her soft voice "On a broad classification, you can divide them into three major factions: The righteous faction, the devil faction and the neutral faction."
"The neutral faction is just like how they are described. They'll not take any sides and just mind their own business. If there's some conflict, they work in their own interest." She said, her voice calm.
"The faction of devils has nothing to do with the devil race. The name just signifies the ruthless nature of these organisations and the cultivators who follow them. There's nothing they can't do for benefits. As such, most of their actions are seen as evil. However, they'll never try to hide what they are doing. If they want to kill someone, they'll directly attack. There's little to no hidden conspiracy."
"As for the righteous faction …or self-righteous faction as I call them, they have their own moral codes. Anyone who goes against these rules will be considered an enemy by them." There was disgust in her voice as she said that. "While a few of them are actually good people, most of them are just hypocrites who hide the atrocities they commit under a veil of righteousness." Her usual soft voice turned ice cold and she sneered.
Tianlong knew that his mother was a follower of the devil path.
She was bound to have a bias towards the righteous faction.
Thus he looked at his father, for confirmation.
When Yun Dingxing noticed his gaze, he could only sigh.
"As much as I hate to say it, she is correct. In the future, you should be extremely careful whenever dealing with any organisation that calls themselves righteous."
Tianlong nodded at his father's words and engraved them in his heart.
"Anyway, now that we have discussed all of that, you need to decide what kind of weapon you'll be using." Yun Dingxing tried to divert the attention from these topics which might be a little too much for a child.
He continued, "A good weapon is like an extension of your body while a weapon that doesn't fit your style is a handicap. In these years we have trained you in the basics of sword, spear, halberd, staff, knives, and archery …Now tell me, which of these weapons would you choose?"
Both parents already had a general idea about his choice. Even so, they wished to hear his opinion and then would give their feedback regarding it.
"For close-ranged combat, I think that the single-edged swords like sabres fit my style and I would also like to continue my archery … it just feels natural to me."
His father laughed out loud after hearing the last statement while his mother shrugged as if she already knew about it.
"Well, that's because we rocs have the one of the best eyesight among all the demonic races. Being the descendants of the Garuda, we also have a natural affinity towards wind and lightning. It's no wonder why archery feels natural to you."
According to legends, the Garuda was an innate godbeast that ruled over the skies. Its claws could pluck stars, its wings could shatter space and its eyes could see everything. Its might was such that the dragon race could only qualify as its prey.
However, no one could verify this as they had never witnessed the legendary creature. This caused many to believe that it was just a myth fabricated by the avian races. Regardless, most of the winged demons considered the Garuda among the ranks of ancestral godbeasts.
"Speaking of archery, it seems as if the dragon blood from your mother has changed your eyes …Well, let's hope that the intermixing somehow improves your vision." He said after looking at his son's eyes.
Tianlong's eyes were azure blue with vertical slit pupils. The enthralling pair of eyes combined with the ice blue horns from his forehead would make anyone think that he has some serpentine lineage.
As he was growing up, his forearms, insteps, shins, and area below the calves were getting covered with azure scales.
However, he did inherit the light brown skin, grey hair, and strong features of his father which made him quite a looker.
His father was a playboy in his early days and according to his mother, he would become the same.
"Don't put all the blame on me" Qianmei interjected. "The Long clan's bloodline is from the Candle dragon race. If he did inherit my dragon blood, the colour of his scales should've been black or crimson, not azure. It's clearly due to the immemorial Lightning dragon core that you refined which left a trace in your blood.
She continued, "My guess is, the trace of your storm dragon bloodline predated on my weaker Candle dragon blood which had more volume and increased its rank."
"Eh? Can lineages act in that way?" Tianlong was stupefied.
"Though even I cannot explain why dragon blood acts that way, I know that all dragons are mixed-blood descendants of the sacred true dragon race. Thus, when two different types of dragon bloodlines come in contact, the lower-ranked one is consumed by the higher one." Long Qianmei answered.
"Also, where did father even get an immemorial storm dragon's core? As far as I know, they are extinct in the ten worlds and are rarely seen even in the nine heavens." Tianlong questioned his mother, clearly baffled.
His question turned them silent. None of them spoke anything for the longest time.
Looking at the complicated looks on their faces, Tianlong understood that he shouldn't have asked the question.
"A same place where we almost lost our lives. A place where you should never go…"