Sky snapped back to reality as if jolted awake from the depths of a dream, consciousness flooding back into his body like an incoming tide. Yet, the muscle memory and energy didn't cease with the return of his awareness; the attack motion was already unleashed, unstoppable and bursting forth.

With his hands clasped together, a blood-red flame bursting with a strong will instantly rose, converging between his palms into a blazing blood-red blade. With destructive force, he swung it mercilessly down towards his opponent, Lumiya.

Facing this fierce strike, Lumiya remained unshaken, her calmness as solid as a mountain. Whispering ancient spells, her words echoed through the air like verses from an age-old poem. Suddenly, her entire body was bathed in an icy blue glow, reminiscent of moonlight on a tranquil lake, creating ripples and shimmering waves. This cold force rapidly formed a thin, cicada-wing layer of ice around her, acting as a shield.

Particularly eye-catching was the dazzling ice-blue brilliance in her right hand, shining as if stars twinkled within, quickly solidifying into a huge crystal ice block resembling a thick, ice-made gauntlet, enveloping her fist and emitting an intense chill.

Lumiya stepped forward fearlessly, her waist the pivot, and with a stride, she clenched her right fist, ready to strike. She hurled her frost-filled right punch towards the incoming blood-red flame blade, causing a thunderous boom. The ice crystal fist, carrying extreme coldness, scattered the blood-red flames in all directions, turning them into nothingness. Then, like an arrow piercing through mist, it smashed through the flame blade, striking Sky with immense force.

A shockwave resonated as Sky's body flew like a stone launched from a sling, tracing a beautiful parabola before crashing into the distant dense forest, stirring up a whirlwind of falling leaves.

Lilianna exclaimed, "You idiot, why can't you hold back a little?" transforming into a swarm of bats and flying towards where Sky fell.

Lumiya quickly followed, saying, "The pressure from the landlord was too intense earlier, I unconsciously used the energy of a third-level Cultivator."

In mere seconds, Lilianna and Lumiya found Sky lying on the ground, partially covered in fallen leaves. Lilianna reverted to her human form, and both squatted beside Sky, one on each side.

At this moment, the blood-red flames on Sky had vanished. He looked up at the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy, his eyes filled with confusion. Tears streaked down his cheeks.

Lumiya, feeling a bit guilty, said, "Landlord, I'm sorry for hitting too hard. Are you hurt? Please, stop crying."

Sky, coming to his senses, wiped his face, feeling the remnants of wetness. He recalled the vast expanse of void he had seen in the deepest parts of his cellular consciousness, contemplating the broad starry sky that seemed to harbor a form of life he couldn't comprehend.

He then remembered why he had cried. The magical double-helix structure, a shared fundamental framework between life and the void—if true, it was a fact both shocking and touching.

Lilianna, worried, asked, "What's wrong? You've seemed out of it since the fight began. Are you injured? In the cultivation process, if there are grave mistakes in the method or if the power used exceeds the threshold, a terrifying state known as 'Deviation Phenomenon' can occur. I wonder if that's what happened to you."

"Deviation Phenomenon!" exclaimed Lumiya, grabbing Sky's wrist and her fingers glowing softly.

Sky felt a gentle energy seep into his body from his wrist, tracing a miraculous path within him. Feeling this external force, his cells stirred slightly, generating an energy that flowed into his bloodstream and concentrated towards his heart.

Lumiya also sensed this power within Sky, quickly advising, "I'm using my qi to check your condition. Relax your body and mind, and don't resist the qi I'm channeling into you."

Sky let his consciousness guide his body, allowing the gathering energy to retreat back into his cells, not resisting Lumiya's qi anymore.

Soon, Sky felt the foreign qi trace a special route within him before returning to his wrist and disappearing.

Lumiya, retracting her hand, said, "There seems to be no sign of Deviation Phenomenon, and your spirit seems normal." She pondered for a moment before asking Sky, "How do you put an elephant into a fridge?"

Sky rolled his eyes, getting up, "Look up the answer online yourself, I'm perfectly sane."

After a moment of silence, he asked with a puzzled expression, "The cultivation technique I'm practicing, 'Cosmic Insight | Primordial Blood,' is it really just a beginner-level, first-grade Foundation Building technique?"

Lilianna suggested, "You two should go back and take a shower, change clothes."

After their fierce duel, Sky and Lumiya's clothes were torn and marked with signs of battle. Dust and sweat mixed together, covering them in dirt.

Besides, both had sustained minor injuries from the fight, appearing battered and blood-stained.

Sky chuckled bitterly, making a jest, "Seems like the path of cultivation is quite hard on clothes."

Lumiya nodded in agreement, "Indeed, Sky. I spend so much money on clothes every year. If I had known our spar would be so intense, I would have worn my Spirit Treasure-grade protective suit. It's a treasure refined from rare materials and enhanced with multiple cultivation runes. Not only does it offer incredible protection, but it can also self-repair using spiritual energy if damaged."

"Spiritual energy? Spirit Treasure-grade?" Sky encountered two more cultivation terms.

"Let's go, let's go. We'll head back, shower, change, and I'll give you a crash course on some basic cultivation knowledge," Lumiya suggested.

The following hours turned into a rapid cultivation knowledge session for Sky.

During this time, Lumiya explained the ancient Eastern cultivation system in her unique way. Whether Lumiya was a genius or simply unconventional, she used modern language and analogies to make the complex concepts more understandable to someone completely new to cultivation. However, her erratic thoughts and disorganized expression sometimes left Sky bewildered and perplexed.

Fortunately, Lilianna was there to clarify and summarize, making the knowledge structure clearer.

"The most important thing for you right now is the cultivation technique system. Forget about the array formations, talismans, Qi Men Dun Jia, the I Ching, mechanical techniques, alchemy, and artifact refining we mentioned earlier. You can learn about those later. We've already explained the different levels of cultivation from first to fifth grade in detail. Do you understand all that?" Lumiya concluded.

"Sort of. Let me summarize my understanding, and you tell me if I'm correct," Sky began. "The first grade of cultivation is known as the Foundation Building phase. It involves consuming special cultivation pills or absorbing the special energy from heaven and earth treasures—referred to as spiritual energy—in combination with specific martial techniques or physical exercises. After about 100 days of absorbing spiritual energy and medicinal power and undergoing specialized strengthening exercises, one can break through the limits of a normal human body, completing the Foundation Building process. This phase lays the physical groundwork for future cultivation."

Lumiya nodded, summarizing, "Exactly, it's all about popping pills and intense training until you induce a genetic mutation."

Lilianna laughed, "Some just go directly to a goddess's house, take the highest quality pills, and boom, genetic mutation."

Sky, annoyed, said to Lilianna, "I feel like Lumiya's speaking style is rubbing off on you."

Continuing, Sky explained, "The second grade is known as the Opening phase. Cultivation theory posits that the human body contains an 'inner world' that corresponds to the 'outer world.' There are five apertures—eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and heart—that serve as channels between these two worlds. Initially, these apertures are like covered by an invisible veil, making the connection between the inner and outer worlds vague and obstructed. Through specific cultivation practices, such as meditation, one can use spiritual energy to gradually open these apertures, enhancing one's perception of both the inner and outer worlds, leading to a better understanding of oneself and the environment."

"Right, it's like upgrading the camera's resolution and internet speed on a smartphone, and installing an app like a phone manager to monitor the phone's performance," Lumiya added.

Lilianna admired, "Your analogy isn't comprehensive, but it's apt."

Sky went on, "The third grade is the True Qi phase. Once one's perception of the inner and outer worlds reaches a certain level, one can sense the spiritual energy filling the outer world and discover that it can be absorbed into the inner world in various ways. Most of this absorbed spiritual energy naturally dissipates back into the outer world, but with the right cultivation techniques, one can gradually increase the amount of spiritual energy retained within the body, transforming it into a controllable internal energy known as True Qi. This energy runs through a network within the body known as meridians, centered around a 'Qi Pool.' This phase focuses on increasing the amount of True Qi, expanding the Qi Pool's capacity, enhancing the meridian network's capacity, and improving the efficiency of the Qi circulation. Now, in addition to cultivation techniques, one must also learn spells and combat skills to use True Qi for offense and defense."

Lumiya summarized with an analogy, "It's like increasing the efficiency of power generation, expanding the capacity of storage batteries, thickening the transmission wires, raising the voltage, and then zapping others with high-voltage electricity."

Lilianna was speechless.

Sky continued, "The fourth grade is the Innate phase, where the simple connection between the inner and outer worlds from the second grade evolves into an overlay. Elements from the outer world are projected into the inner world and materialized. 'Innate' refers to the purest form of the world, capable of infinite possibilities. It's difficult to express in words, but it involves simulating perceptions from the outer world within the inner world. Since the outer world is vast, only a limited part can be projected and materialized in the inner world. For example, perceptions of water, fire, light, darkness, mountains, rivers, and the movement of celestial bodies can be projected into the inner world and attempted to be materialized. From this point, cultivation techniques diverge significantly, with deeper perceptions of the outer world leading to greater power."

Lumiya shook her head, "You've said a lot but didn't make it clear. Isn't it just about showing off knowledge and bluffing in the inner world? The one who bluffs the biggest and even convinces themselves wins."

Lilianna choked on her own saliva.

"Is that how it works?" Sky was astonished, "Then what about the fifth grade, the External Scenery phase? My understanding is that it involves using the power of the inner world to affect the outer world on a small scale, but I don't quite get it."