Finding a small cave under a nearby cliff, Cang Tian jumped inside, threw out the beast that had made the cave it's home and settled down, sitting cross legged against the wall.
'Now, let's try to remember what I learned.'
Cultivation in the world of martial artists involves the pursuit of strength by following the 'Profound Way'. The 'Profound Way' of the world gifts each mortal innate profound veins which allow them to cultivation profound strength.
A person's cultivation level can be separated into Nine Realms. Each realm went from level 1st to 10th before advancing to another realm. Once they reach the 10th level and can advance to the next realm, that's considered the peak of said realm.
When one's profound strength grows, it essentially means that the density of the profound energy in their profound veins is growing, that their profound energy has become slightly more compressed. Once it reaches a certain level of compression, a fundamental change will occur, that is also when they enter a new realm.
And the first among the Nine Realms was the Elementary Profound Realm. It was said that 14 years old was the critical stage of Elementary Profound foundation. Cang Tian, was already 16 years old this year.
"With the body I was born with, I don't believe this would hamper me too much."
The first wave of profound strength in the Profound Veins came from one's vitality; precisely, by slowly pulling one's vitality bit by bit into the Profound Veins, it would slowly transform into a sparse profound energy. Once the Profound Veins were filled to the brim with this sparse profound energy, it would be the first official step into a profound strength of the Elementary Profound Realm.
Considering Cang Tian's immense vitality already, he knew that this step shouldn't take too long.
Following the steps he learned, Cang Tian looked inwards and quickly located the Profound Veins that were mentioned.
Seeing their strange form, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that such a thing existed in his body all this time without his knowledge.
But as he inspected it more, he came to a certain realization.
'My profound veins…they give off the same feeling that beast did. Wait, is that where it went? Did it merge with me and become my profound veins?'
The Profound Veins inside the human body are like a robust, mature tree with many branches spreading out in all directions. On each branch lies a Profound Entrance.
The "trunk" is the most important core position of the Profound Veins and the base of all the Profound Veins. There were no Profound Entrances on this base.
This was how Profound Veins grew in the average person, save for unique cases.
Cang Tian was one such unique case. His profound veins didn't have any branches leading anywhere else inside his body.
Instead, it was mostly one long massive tree with a budding flower on top, radiating some type of strange sun like-energy. Strangely similar to the sun-like seal in his right palm. The thick roots were spread out throughout his body; two massive roots were linked to his Rinnegan, then one even larger root was linked to each of his limbs.
The rest of the large vein roots just stayed underneath the tree, seemingly providing sustenance to the main vein.
A bit of excitement flashed through Cang Tian's eyes as he inspected his profound veins. How unique could his type of vein be? One in a hundred? Maybe one in a million? Or maybe he could be the only one with this type.
Even so, Cang Tian knew that his power wasn't ordinary.
So, he tried to find a name for his profound veins, probably the only one of its type that existed in the entire world.
'Hm…the more I think about it, the more the words "God Tree" gets stuck in my mind. So let's call it the [God Tree's Profound Veins]. As for what Profound Art I'll cultivate…'
Running through the memories of the two young men, Cang Tian only found the [Purple Sun Art], which was the core cultivation technique of the Profound Heart Sect. As he ran through it, he was a bit, unimpressed by its capabilities.
While it could create powerhouses in New Moon City with its powerful [Purple Cloud Palm] profound skill, the art itself wasn't that amazing. He was sure that the Imperial Family probably had something 100 times better than that.
So as Cang Tian stepped on the road to cultivation by starting the process of drawing his vitality into his Profound Veins in an effort to transform it into a sparse profound energy, he thought about what Profound Art would go well with his unique veins.
Unbeknownst to him though, even before these thoughts emerged within his mind, the creature within him that had already familiarized and merged with the laws of this world, had set a path forward for him…
[Two weeks later]
A muscular young man sat shirtless in a cave, cross-legged, as the dead bodies of multiple beasts surrounded him.
His body was filled with vitality and what seemed to be endless life force as Profound Energy burst forth from his being, slightly shaking the cave around him.
'I've finally done it! I've stepped into the 0th stage of the Elementary Profound Realm!'
Now he had officially stepped on the road of cultivation or, the [Profound Way]. Revenge was finally well underway.
It was time to start cultivating a Profound Art. As he thought about this, certain thoughts unfamiliar to himself sprang up within his mind, causing his eyes to open wide.
'This…is from that Ten-tailed creature. It tailored one to me? Interesting. It called it the [God Tree Revival Tactic]. Let's see… if I follow what this says…'
The moment Cang Tian started following the instructions the creature imparted upon him, the vital energy of the sky and earth surged through the seals in his palms.
When the vital energy hit the seals, they were converted into the respective energy each seal was responsible for. When it hit the Yin seal, the vital energy was turned into Yin energy that nourished the roots of his profound veins, his soul and his mind.
Likewise, when the vital energy went through his Yang seal, it was turned into Yang energy that nourished the rest of his veins, his meridians, his blood, his bones and every other part of his body.
But, that wasn't enough for his Profound Veins.
CRACK!!
Medium-sized tree roots grew out of his body and shot into the ground, burrowing deep under it.
Within moments, the tree roots started absorbing…blood. It wasn't looking for vital energy of the sky and earth.
No, the roots themselves absorbed the blood soaked into the ground from dead beasts and humans alike. Whether the blood was eons old or newly spilled, it made no difference.
Within seconds, the blood from the dead beasts around him was pulled into his body, advancing his physical strength and his cultivation by leaps and bounds.
'This technique is a bit…vicious, but I like it. The power I need can't be gained through purity and orthodox arts alone. Whatever I need…I will use.'
[One month later]
The cave Cang Tian sat in hummed as waves of profound energy bounced off the walls, reverberating all around the area.
His muscles had grown considerably larger from the overwhelming amount of yang energy flowing within them. His hair had even gotten a bit longer. It was as if he had aged a couple years over the last month.
Standing up with the remainder of his torn black robes tied around his waist, Cang Tian's power reached a whole new realm as a purple flashed through his eyes.
'Seventh level of the Elementary Profound Realm huh? That's a good starting point for now. I need to get out, train, and consolidate my cultivation. Otherwise all of this would've been for nothing.'
Using the truth-seeking orb, Cang Tian made a flat platform, jumped on it and floated out of the cave, heading right back into the forest.
It was time to go deeper. To face the true monsters of the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range.