“When you say Vajra Realm and Celestial Phenomenon Realm, are you referring to realms above the Innate Realm?” Not only Shangguan Haitang was curious, but Jiang Yuyan and Xue Qianxun were also very curious.

Zhang Weihai nodded and said, “The three realms of the innate realm actually refer to refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao. After that, you choose a Dao to go to a deeper level, and at this time, a branch will appear.”

The Buddhist Vajra, the Taoist Pointing to the Mystery, and the Confucian Celestial Phenomena correspond to body refinement, spirit refinement, and qi refinement, respectively. This can be seen from the martial arts manuals of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

The most powerful techniques of Shaolin are Yi Jing Xi Sui and Vajra Indestructible, as well as the Seventy-Two Unique Skills. Most of these are actually body-refining techniques and do not involve spirit-refining.

Many Taoist sects, including Wudang and Quanzhen, involve some spiritual cultivation but do not emphasize physical cultivation.

Confucian practices are almost nowhere to be found in this world, but they do exist. Confucianism mainly focuses on cultivating qi, nurturing righteous qi, communicating with heaven and earth, summoning wind and rain, and making one’s words law.

There is no inherent distinction between the three; they are mainly divided into four realms: Greater, Lesser, True, and False. However, not everyone is a follower of the three religions; there are also pure martial artists. Therefore, because of their own knowledge of martial arts and beliefs, martial artists find it difficult to reach the pinnacle in any one aspect. Thus, they may dabble in all three types, but they will not go too far in any one of them.

First, one enters the Vajra Body Refinement stage, then the Finger Profound Spirit Refinement stage, followed by the Celestial Phenomenon Qi Refinement stage, and finally, the essence, qi, and spirit unite, the three flowers gather at the top, and the five qi converge at the origin, entering the so-called Land Immortal Realm. At this level, martial artists are stronger than those from the three religions.

However, because each martial artist’s aptitude and accumulated comprehension differ, the depth of their understanding across the three realms varies greatly, resulting in significant differences even within the same realm. Martial artists at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm are the most formidable material for the Red Armored General, capable of supporting the five-in-one combination and unleashing strength comparable to the Great Celestial Phenomenon Realm, which is equivalent to a Land Immortal Realm.

Ordinary people might find the realms in the snow a bit chaotic, but once they truly delve into the cultivation of the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit, and understand what it means to have the Three Flowers Gather at the Top and the Five Qi Converge at the Origin, they will realize that such a setting is quite reasonable.

Everyone is the same in the first grade and four realms, but those who cultivate only one realm are those who cultivate the major and minor true and false, such as the Great Vajra, the Great Finger Profound, and the Great Celestial Phenomenon, which are actually the corresponding terrestrial immortal realms.

There is no difference in realm, and because of the difference in strength, the Great Vajra can easily kill a martial artist in the Land Immortal realm.

However, similarly, if a martial artist cultivates all three realms to their limits—that is, the Great Vajra, the Great Finger Profound, and the Great Celestial Phenomenon—and then unites the three teachings, this would be the ceiling of the Snow World, the true Heavenly Immortality.

Even if they ascend to the Immortal Realm, they will be powerful figures, definitely not minor characters.

However, the difficulty is too great, almost non-existent, and one would suffer divine retribution and various heavenly tribulations, making one unacceptable to the Heavenly Dao.

Neither Shangguan Haitang nor Jiang Yuyan had ever heard of such a realm before, but it sounded incredibly powerful. Jiang Yuyan, being quite shrewd, clung to Zhang Weihai’s arm and, adopting a submissive, girlish demeanor, continued to inquire, “Is this realm very powerful?”

Have you heard of the Five Immortals of Taoism?

The Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji states: “The Ghost Immortal is the lowest of the Five Immortals. They transcend the Yin realm, their divine image is unclear, they have no surname in the Ghost Gate, and no name in the Three Mountains. Although they do not enter the cycle of reincarnation, they find it difficult to return to Penglai. Ultimately, they have nowhere to go and can only be reborn into the tongue.” It also says: “Those who cultivate, without understanding the Great Dao, desire to achieve quick success. Their bodies are like withered wood, their hearts like purple ashes, their spirits are guarded within, and their will is not scattered. In meditation, a Yin spirit emerges, which is a pure and spiritual ghost, not a pure Yang immortal. Because their Yin spirit is not scattered, they are called Ghost Immortals.”

The book “The Complete Collection of Martial Arts” also mentions: “If one simply closes his eyes and sits in silence, meditating and illuminating the mind, he will find stillness within stillness, but without completely extinguishing the stillness. He will only cultivate a strong stillness of the Yin spirit. When the breath is exhausted, the Yin spirit will emerge and become a spirit ghost, which is called a ghost immortal. From the perspective of cultivation, the ghost immortal is the lowest level of cultivation.”

The “terrestrial immortals” I’m referring to here are actually the Earth Immortals among the Five Immortals of Taoism. The Five Immortals are Ghost Immortals, Human Immortals, Earth Immortals, Divine Immortals, and Celestial Immortals. The other four are realms, while Divine Immortals are a special kind of being and have nothing to do with realms.

What I’m talking about is the three religions cultivating one realm, after completing the major, minor, true and false paths, reaching the ultimate, and ascending to the heavenly realm, one becomes the celestial immortal, the head of the five immortals, also known as a heavenly being, which is considered the highest position in the cultivation system of the three religions. Do you think the difference is big or not?

“Not to mention the four realms above the Innate Realm, even within the three Innate Realms alone, the difference between each realm is extraordinary… Is it raining outside?” Zhang Weihao asked Xue Qianxun after suddenly hearing the sound of rain falling outside.

Xue Qianxun lifted the curtain and saw that it was indeed raining, and it was a summer thunderstorm, which came and went quickly. It was obviously getting heavier and heavier, and there was even lightning and thunder in the sky.

“You’re lucky, so I’ll show you what a terrifying Grandmaster of the Innate Realm is. I’ll only demonstrate it once, so watch carefully.”

After Zhang Weihao finished speaking, he immediately told Ruhua and Cuihua to stop the carriage. Then he looked at the rain outside and saw that the rain was getting heavier. He then stretched his hand out of the carriage and began to gather water droplets in his palm.

Visible water droplets gathered in Zhang Weihao’s palm, and then he struck out with his palm. The water droplets, which were originally only the size of a fingertip, continued to gather rainwater from the surrounding area during their high-speed flight, and finally formed a water sword about one meter long, which shot straight towards the grove of trees to their left.

The speed increased rapidly, piercing through several large trees in succession, and finally forming a huge vortex of true energy, like a small waterspout. It threw the entire grove into chaos, destroying a large number of flowers, grasses and trees, as if after a storm.

“This…this…this is the destructive power of a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm? And it’s just a drop of water?”

Even falling flowers and plucked leaves can be deadly; grass, trees, bamboo, and rocks can all be used as swords!

Shangguan Haitang and the others had heard of Zhang Weihao, but they were still completely shocked after witnessing his skills firsthand.

That’s ridiculous! Are you sure all innate grandmasters are this powerful? Then what’s the point of fighting? If you encounter one, just turn around and run. They’re no match for you.

“Don’t be fooled by the mere difference of ‘Grandmaster’ between a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm and a Great Grandmaster of the Innate Realm; the gap between them is actually enormous. No matter how many Grandmasters of the Innate Realm there are, they can’t kill a Great Grandmaster of the Innate Realm. In a one-on-one fight, even the most powerful Grandmaster of the Innate Realm can be defeated in just a few moves; there is already a fundamental difference between them.”

“The gap between each of the four realms above the Innate Realm is even greater than the gap between an Innate Grandmaster and an Innate Grandmaster. Once your skill reaches a certain level, even a slight improvement becomes immeasurable.” Zhang Weihao sighed. The Dragon and Snake World didn’t have such a large gap, but in the martial arts world, the difference was truly enormous. This was because the primordial energy and spiritual energy of heaven and earth truly existed here, and the gap became increasingly exaggerated as one progressed.