I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 180 The Hundred Kingdoms of the Northern Region
The Department of Cautious Punishment.

The top floor of the building.

Liu Muyuan sat cross-legged behind a mahogany table, looking calm and composed, while Wu Ming stood respectfully in front of him.

"...To be able to cultivate blood coagulation four times, your martial arts talent is quite extraordinary."

Liu Muyuan looked Wu Ming up and down and made a comment.

“This disciple has diligently cultivated himself and has never slacked off.”

Wu Ming responded with a humble expression.

Liu Muyuan chuckled and shook his head, saying, "To be able to cultivate four stages of blood coagulation at this age is not something that can be achieved simply through diligence. Even if your primordial spirit has already reached the fourth stage of refinement, the difficulty of martial arts cultivation is no less than that of primordial spirit cultivation."

At this point, Liu Muyuan paused slightly, then continued, "Your martial arts cultivation has made some progress. How is your Taoist cultivation going lately? What level have you reached in cultivating the Heavenly Gang Thunder Essence Dharma Form that I taught you?"

After a brief moment of thought, Wu Ming honestly replied, "Reporting to Master, the disciples of the Heavenly Gang Thunder Essence Dharma Form have completed the second level, and the disciples of the sixth Thunder Talisman of the Divine Firmament Upper Purity Talisman have also completed it."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Muyuan was slightly surprised.

He knew that Wu Ming was exceptionally talented, and he also knew that Wu Ming would have no trouble mastering the sixth thunder talisman of the Divine Firmament Upper Purity Talisman and the second level of the Heavenly Gang Thunder Essence Dharma Image. However, he did not expect that Wu Ming could master it so quickly, half a year faster than he had anticipated.

However, the higher Wu Ming's talent was, the more satisfied he naturally became.

"very good."

After carefully examining Wu Ming, Liu Muyuan smiled and said, "To be able to cultivate the Divine Firmament Upper Purity Talisman to the sixth thunder talisman and cultivate the Heavenly Gang Thunder Origin Dharma Image to the second level during the fourth stage of the Primordial Spirit Refinement, you can be considered a top expert among the four refinements and four bloodstains. You have indeed been able to seize that opportunity."

Wu Ming had previously thought that the great changes in the world and the appearance of the rift in the earth were the opportunity that Liu Muyuan was talking about, but he later dismissed the idea. Now that Liu Muyuan brought it up again, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "I wonder what this opportunity is?"

Liu Muyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, it's not too early to tell you now."

"You should know that this world is vast and boundless, and the territory occupied by our human race is endless. Although the Yong Kingdom has fifty-four cities, it is only the territory of one country."

"Disciple knows."

Wu Ming nodded slightly.

As the head of the Censorate, he naturally knew a lot about this world, and his knowledge was no longer limited to the territory of Yong Kingdom. The entire northern part of Yong Kingdom was basically bordering the Wilderness Region, but if you went east, you would reach Yue Kingdom, if you went west, you would reach Liang Kingdom, and if you went south, you would reach Wei Kingdom.

These three kingdoms are roughly equal in territory and strength to Yong Kingdom. They are not exactly harmonious with each other, but there are no major conflicts either. It is said that the royal bloodlines of the four kingdoms all come from the same lineage. Tracing back countless years, these four kingdoms once belonged to a larger kingdom. However, as time passed, that great kingdom split into many smaller kingdoms.

"You should know some things about the Yue Kingdom, the Liang Kingdom, and the Wei Kingdom, but in reality, the vastness of the human race's territory far exceeds your imagination. The place we are in is the 'Northern Continent' among the five continents of the human race. The Northern Continent has eight regions, and the region we are in is called the 'Northern Wilderness Region,' which is considered a relatively remote region. But even though it is relatively remote, there are no less than a hundred countries in this region. Countries like the Yong Kingdom, the Liang Kingdom, and even the Wei Kingdom are just a corner of it."

At this moment, Liu Muyuan began to recount the story in detail, revealing a corner of the entire human race's territory to Wu Ming.

Although Wu Ming had already deduced from many clues and information that the territory occupied by the human race must be vast and boundless, what Liu Muyuan mentioned still amazed him. Sure enough, although Yong Kingdom had fifty-four cities, it was only a small corner of the land.

After all, within the Yong Kingdom, being able to cultivate to the sixth level of Blood Condensation is already considered a top-tier expert, and if one can achieve the seventh level of Blood Condensation, even the Yong Kingdom's royal family will treat them with great respect and bestow upon them the title of Grandmaster.

further up,
Eight or even nine instances of blood clotting—the Yong Kingdom hasn't produced such a master in hundreds of years.

According to his understanding, among the vast and endless human beings, there must be beings who have transcended the nine stages of blood condensation and reached immortality, let alone those who have achieved it nine times. Otherwise, such clear information would not have been passed down.

Seeing Wu Ming's moved expression, Liu Muyuan paused for a moment before continuing, "In this Northern Wilderness Region, although there are hundreds of kingdoms, there is also a great power that protects it. This country is called 'Great Jin'. Its national strength is boundless. Even legendary experts who have condensed their blood eight or even nine times are not uncommon in Great Jin. It is the true center of the region and a holy land for cultivation!"

The Great Jin! Wu Ming finally realized that there was a power even larger than the Yong Kingdom. Compared to the Yong Kingdom, the Great Jin Empire, which ruled over a region, was clearly a true behemoth, far beyond the reach of the Yong Kingdom.

At this moment, Liu Muyuan looked at Wu Ming with a deep gaze and said, "The Great Jin Dynasty has countless strong people, endless resources, and boundless inheritance. With your talent and aptitude, you can be called a peerless genius in the Yong Kingdom. In the future, you will also have the opportunity to reach the peak of the Yong Kingdom and become a powerful figure. However, if you have greater ambitions and want to reach a higher realm, you must find a way to go to the Great Jin Dynasty and become a disciple of the holy land of cultivation there. Only then will you have a chance to ask about the eighth and ninth refinement realms!"

Wu Ming's heart was also filled with turmoil as he listened to Liu Muyuan's words, but because he possessed the supreme treasure, the Black Emperor Demon-Subduing Diagram, he remained relatively calm. After digesting the information Liu Muyuan had given him, he cautiously inquired:

"So the opportunity you mentioned, Master, is entering the sacred cultivation grounds of the Great Jin Dynasty?"

Upon hearing Wu Ming's words, Liu Muyuan shook his head and said, "The cultivation holy land of the Great Jin is not so easy to enter. Don't be fooled by your talent in Daoist arts, which makes you the best in the Yong Kingdom in this era. The Yong Kingdom has a history of thousands of years and has produced many outstanding talents who are no less than you. Not all of them have the opportunity to enter the cultivation holy land of the Great Jin."

"Entering the sacred cultivation grounds of the Great Jin Dynasty is still a long way off for you, and it's not something you should be considering right now. What I'm referring to as the opportunity is something else entirely: using your abilities, through the connections of the Shenxing Division, to go to the capital of the Yong Kingdom, enter the Qianlong Academy, and utilize its resources to further your cultivation."

Hidden Dragon Academy.

Wu Ming knew about this place. It belonged to the Yong Kingdom and was the highest institution for cultivating talents in the imperial court. Apart from the royal family, only the most outstanding talents were qualified to enter it. Generally speaking, it only recruited some young talents within the capital and trained them. For remote outer cities such as Jingye City, it only selected the most outstanding ones.

Of course, it would be very easy for him to enter the Hidden Dragon Academy now. In fact, if he wasn't qualified to enter, then no one in the entire Yong Kingdom, in this generation of the Daoist lineage, would be qualified to enter.

"After all, the Qianlong Academy is where Yong Kingdom cultivates top geniuses. It concentrates the resources of the entire country and is more suitable for you than the small Jingye City. After you get there, concentrate on your cultivation. It would be best if you could reach the fifth level of cultivation within two or three years, and then spend another two or three years perfecting your various Dao techniques."

"This way, you can lead the Yong Kingdom to participate in the Hundred Kingdoms' War of Prodigies in the Northern Wilderness before you turn thirty."

Liu Muyuan continued speaking to Wu Ming.

"The Battle of a Hundred Nations' Prodigies?"

Wu Ming was slightly taken aback; this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

Liu Muyuan nodded slightly and said, "The Hundred Kingdoms Prodigy Battle is held every five years. It is initiated by the Great Jin Dynasty and invites the hundred kingdoms of the Northern Wilderness to participate. The aim is to select geniuses from the hundred kingdoms and bring them into the holy land of cultivation for training. The minimum threshold for participating in this battle is that you are under thirty years old. Those over thirty years old are not allowed to participate."

"In this battle, five refinements and five blood are the threshold, and to get a ranking, you must at least reach the top level. According to past experience, if you can get into the top ten, you can directly enter the cultivation holy land of the Great Jin. The top thirty will need to go through a special assessment. As for those who are further down, they will basically have no chance to enter the holy land."

Speaking of which,

Liu Muyuan looked at Wu Ming and said, "With your current strength, you have already reached the peak of the fourth level of cultivation. Entering the Hidden Dragon Academy will be a piece of cake. And with your talent and aptitude, once you reach the fifth level, you will be qualified to challenge the geniuses of the Hundred Kingdoms."

"You know that in this world, whether it's Taoism or martial arts, what everyone is fighting for is resources. The further you progress in cultivation, the more you lack resources. Right now, in the Cautious Punishment Division, you can basically acquire merits at will, but the Cautious Punishment Division's treasury doesn't have that many suitable resources for you to exchange freely. That's the limitation."

"If you want to cultivate to the eighth level of the Primordial Spirit Refinement or the eighth level of Blood Condensation, those top-notch resources are indispensable. Only in the cultivation holy land of the Great Jin Dynasty can you have abundant and endless resources for your use. No other country can provide them. Of course, if your goal is limited to the seventh level of Refinement and the seventh level of Blood Condensation, then it is not necessary to compete for them."

After hearing Liu Muyuan's words, Wu Ming couldn't help but take a slight breath and said, "I come from a humble background. At first, I only wanted to be warm and well-fed. I have come a long way through hardship and have gained my master's appreciation, which is why I have my current status. I know that in the world of cultivation, one must be down-to-earth and not be overly ambitious. However, cultivating one's martial will requires great aspirations. Therefore, I also have a wish in my heart: to see the pinnacle of cultivation in this world."

For Wu Ming now, possessing a supreme treasure like the Black Emperor Demon Subduing Diagram, having witnessed higher-level scenery, and even personally killing a sixth-order Great Demon King, his vision is naturally not limited to the Seven Blood Seven Refinements.

As Liu Muyuan said,

For him, who had reached the fourth stage of blood clotting, the treasury of the Censorate was indeed somewhat 'empty'. Although there were many resources that could be used for the fourth stage of blood clotting, there were not enough varieties, and many types were out of stock.

Upon reaching the fourth stage of blood clotting, the requirements for cultivating blood energy become much higher. Many spiritual medicinal foods with remarkable effects will gradually lose their effectiveness after three or four months of continuous use, as the body gradually adapts. Therefore, in order to maintain the progress of blood energy accumulation, it is necessary to switch to other types of spiritual foods.

Although he was not lacking in merits, the Imperial Penal Office's treasury did not have that many kinds of tonics in stock.

This shortage of resources will become more and more serious over time.

Therefore, going to the capital of Yong Kingdom was already part of his planned itinerary. After learning about the vast territory from Liu Muyuan and unveiling the veil of this world, he naturally also kept the cultivation holy land of the Great Jin Dynasty in his heart.

(End of this chapter)