"I don't know. Please instruct me, father." Yichen said respectfully.
Actually, after having read so many books, both of them had learned about it long ago. But as a four-year-old child, there was no need for him to appear so devilishly intelligent.
"Then I will tell you two and let you understand." Yichuan's voice was like ice. "First, let's talk about the seven major stages."
"The first stage, Houtian. Lifespan of a hundred years."
"The second stage, Xiantian. Lifespan of two hundred years"
"The third stage, Zifu, the 'Violet Palace'. At this level, one will be addressed as Zifu Disciple. Lifespan of five hundred years."
"The fourth stage, Wanxiang, 'Manifestations'. At this level, one will be addressed as Wanxiang Adept. Lifespan of eight hundred years."
"The fifth stage, Primal. Can be referred to as Primal Daoist."
"The sixth stage, Void. Can be referred to as 'Land Immortal', or 'Earth Immortal'. In the later levels of the Void stage, a heavenly tribulation will test them. If they fail, then they will die and their spirits will be extinguished. If a Primal's body is destroyed but manages to escape with his soul, then he will become a 'Loose Immortal', whose power is roughly on par with the 'Earth Immortals'."
"The seventh stage, Celestial Immortal. Only at this stage can one be considered to have ascended beyond the Three Realms and no longer be formed by the Five Elements!"
Yichuan stared at his boys after speaking. He wanted to see the look of awe and surprise on their faces…but both of them were just listening intently.
"You say you wish to train to become an Immortal. Thus, I wish you to know how hard it is to become an Immortal." Ji Yichuan's voice sank down. "The first obstacle to becoming an Immortal…is to pass from the Houtian stage to the Xiantian stage!"
"What does Xiantian mean? Only a lifeform which was naturally born by the heavens and the earth can be described as a Xiantian lifeform. In the distant Fiendgod Era, there were Fiendgods that were born naturally by the heavens and by the earth and which possessed tremendous power from their birth. In addition, there are those who are reborn into the Heavenly Realms as 'Devas' or as 'Asuras'. These Devas and Asuras are all birthed by nature itself, and thus by their very nature, they are a Xiantian lifeform. This makes it very fast for them to train, because only Xiantian life forms can train to become an Immortal!"
"It is impossible for mortals to train to become an Immortal…but the Heavens always leave a thread of hope. Thus, in the past, benevolent elders created a set of training techniques which can allow the bodies of ordinary people become akin to the bodies of Xiantian lifeforms. Only then did it become possible for ordinary people to train to become an Immortal."
"But for an ordinary person to become a Xiantian lifeform is against the natural laws of the universe, making it very hard! The success rate is lower than one in ten thousand! Tell me, is it hard or not?"
Silently they continued to listen.
" If I had chosen different parents, or different wishes I could have been unparalleled at birth, let alone a Xiantian lifeform, give me a break, get to the cultivation techniques, this is boring" Alex thought.
"The second great obstacle to becoming an Immortal…from the Xiantian stage to the Zifu stage!"
"Only by establishing a Zifu, also known as a 'Violet Palace', can one continue to train as an Immortal. Establishing a 'Violet Palace' is like laying the 'foundation' when building a house or seeding the fields in order to harvest the crops. The Violet Palace is the crop field and is the core for an Immortal. It is the basic underpinning of the path of Immortals! Only after one has truly established a 'Violet Palace' in one's body can one embark on the route to becoming an Immortal. And only then can one be titled a Zifu Disciple! For a Xiantian expert to establish a 'Violet Palace'…perhaps one in a thousand will succeed. Tell me, is it hard or not?"Ning nodded, while Alex tried as hard as he could to look as if he was interested, this was so basic.
At the same time, he continued to listen carefully. The books of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture only described these two obstacles. They didn't describe the obstacles after that.
"In order to establish a Zifu and become an Immortal, one must possess a world-shaking power."
"But becoming an Immortal, by its very nature, is against the laws of the universe. Thus, starting from the day you step onto the path of the Immortals, in other words from the day on which you establish your Zifu, you will be tested every three hundred years. Every nine hundred years, you will undergo a major tribulation. Thus, as the saying goes, 'Three centuries a calamity, nine centuries a tribulation. Calamities are easy to avoid, but tribulations are hard to escape!' A test every three centuries, and a tribulation every nine…after embarking on the path to becoming an Immortal, this will continue forever, unless you become a Celestial Immortal. Otherwise, the 'Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations' will become your eternal fate."
Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations?
Three centuries a calamity, nine centuries a tribulation. Calamities are easy to avoid, but tribulations are hard to escape.
Hearing about the power of tribulation in person was different, his father spoken about deaths of famous people, legend in their own right, people he knew, he really homed in the power the tribulations have. Unless one became a Celestial Immortal, everyone who trained in the path of Immortals would have to deal with a test every three centuries.
"Do you still desire to train to become an Immortal?" Yichuan looked at Ning.
"Yes." they both replied nodding.
Yichuan nodded slightly. If the boy had been terrified just by hearing about this, Yichuan would have been disappointed. What he didn't know was…how could Alex possibly be scared as easily as this? There was nothing without risk. Even walking on the street, one might be killed by a rock falling down from the skies. Even when eating, one might choke to death. Training to become an Immortal naturally would be extremely risky. It would be bizarre if it wasn't.
"However…" Yichuan frowned. "You are too young, and training techniques are very complicated. If I was to transmit a high-class Immortal training technique."
" Father, we want to learn body refining, can we please look at the techniques, " Alex interrupted. " We know it's harder, but it will strengthen our foundation in ki when we start and the path to strength is draught with difficulties anyway. "
"Alright!" Yichuan nodded. "The Fiendgod Body Refining method is incomparably precious. Our Ji clan in total has nineteen books on Fiendgod Body Refining scattered through our five prefectures. I will let you choose the one you wish to train in!" Yichaun got Uncle black to go and get the books.
"Boys." Yichuan looked at his son. "The abridged versions only have the first parts of each Immortal training technique, combined with a summary and description of the technique. Take a close look and see which one you want."