Nexus Ascension: My Comprehension Defies the Heaven-Chapter 356: Forging the path

"The path must not be related to the main world at all."

That was the primary condition Grey had set for himself.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed through the void. He had already teleported himself into his inner space and was currently pacing around the small world with a deeply thoughtful expression.

"However, that does not necessarily mean I cannot reference it."

With the Energy Arts cultivation method as a base, the requirements had changed drastically. In the main world, the number twelve was absolute.

One Rank, twelve levels.

He did not know if twelve levels were the mainstream standard because of some universal truth or simply because of the limitations of the masses. Regardless, every path had twelve levels to each of its Chapters, which corresponded to each of its Ranks.

"Forget the twelve levels."

"I just have to make it six." Grey’s eyes flickered with a sharp light.

The twelve levels of those standard evolutionary paths held no true meaning other than the repetitive process of grinding. It was just constantly making one’s energy, body, and mind stronger through rote repetition.

Grey wanted to give the progression purpose.

Hence, he settled for six distinct stages and had already conceptualized the first four.

Foundation Tempering Realm.

Shattering Realm.

Golden Integration Nexus Realm.

Tribulation Realm.

The Foundation Realm would begin with the establishment of one’s absolute foundation. One would gather energy into their meridians, purify that energy, and eventually form a vortex.

It involved gathering energy into the meridians and purifying it to baptize the energy pathways using high-grade Aether energy, or in his specific case, Nexus energy.

"But is that alone enough to perceive the first genetic limiter?"

Grey decided to test this theory immediately.

He utilized his Shapeless ability to construct a clone. The clone took his exact shape and sat cross-legged on the ground. He split his consciousness and descended onto the clone to control it directly.

Being an empty shell born of assimilation, the pathways were left empty and the elixir fields were still locked away. Without hesitation, he began the foundation tempering process.

The real Grey traced his fingers through the air of the inner space. The runes within the formation diagrams for cosmic energy conversion shifted places while spiritual energy gradually formed around the inner space. Immediately, a massive amount of spiritual energy from the atmosphere of the Azure Origin Planet poured into the inner space. With the Devourer of Chaos active, the clone began to actively utilize the breathing technique to absorb Aether energy.

The breathing pattern synchronized with that of the Nexus Ascension Scripture, which Grey had already modified to roughly match the Energy Arts cultivation manual.

The first stage shared extreme similarities to the standard path. For example, there was the formation of the cyclone within one’s elixir field. Grey converted the process into six levels, restructuring the initial three lower boundaries.

He incorporated stages such as Pulse Condensation, Pulse Tempering, and Pulse Gathering.

He automated these processes by taking inspiration from the Nexus Ascension Scripture’s first Chapter, which was a compilation of the Immortal Cultivation path’s Qi Gathering Realm. He established this phase as the "Pseudo-level" because he intended to establish the Energy Gathering Realm, which is the actual formation of the cyclone within the elixir field or the Dantian, as the true first level of the Foundation Tempering Realm.

Additionally, one would awaken psionic power and also begin to refine Qi and Blood to strengthen the body.

[Your comprehension defies the heavens! While recreating the Nexus Path, you have understood the importance of differentiating the body from energy. Utilizing Qi and Blood has allowed you to gain insight into the Golden Body.]

Beyond the realm of Energy Arts, Grey was also interested in a divergent path.

It was the world of Martial Arts.

In that world, Qi and Blood were refined by absorbing the energy in the atmosphere. In the main world, cultivators directly used cosmic energy to refine the body. Therefore, the concept of specific Qi and Blood for a martial artist was effectively dead in the main world.

They felt they did not need it in the first place.

But after going through the memories of that martial world, he realized something profound. The Main World’s martial path was flawed. It had been simplified and made easier for the people of the starry sky to comprehend.

Qi and Blood were the life source of a martial artist.

That martial world had different stages dedicated to it. It began with the Qi and Blood Formation Realm, which could be considered a method to break the first genetic limiter.

Then came the Realm of Innate, where they formed strands of Qi and Blood within one’s energy pathways. Once they reached the Qi Blood Core, they could form a core of flesh that held their concentrated power.

The end of this martial path concluded with one forging the Golden Tao Bone. This resulted in a qualitative leap of strength. If unleashed, it could quite literally end the entirety of the Southern Region. The Golden Tao Bone was a necessity for the Golden Body one would eventually form.

"The martial arts of that world are similar to the ranking system of the main world." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The Golden Tao Bone represented the Fourth Rank, and the Golden Body was most likely comparable to the Fifth Level. As for the Golden Body itself, it was only mentioned in legends. It seemed like the "World Level" of that dimension limited the experts there from breaking through.

It was quite ironic. If they could have broken through, then it might have been the Lesser Heaven that got devoured by them instead.

Setting that aside, Grey finally decided to separate energy from the body. It was a dual path which, in the end, still unified via the Nexus Ascension Scripture.

If one power is weaker, the other will not advance. Perfect balance, as it should be.

Grey pulled his thoughts back and focused on the clone. By now, the clone had already formed energy within the energy pathways, also known as the meridians, and had begun the purification process to use that energy to finally break into the Dantian.

At the same time, a process of transformation was occurring within the clone.

"It has sensed the energy and is beginning to break through."

A satisfied smile formed on Grey’s face at the result. With that confirmation, there was no need to hesitate.

However, before fully committing, Grey wanted to implement one more power into the system.

"Soul Power."

This power was something he found while browsing through the library of the Lesser Heaven. The power system of that civilization focused entirely on the mind and soul, and they just so happened to have a Soul Guidance Technique.

With this, the effects of the soul rewriting process could be hastened to an unimaginable degree, and Soul Power could be utilized to perform devastating soul attacks.

Of course, it could not be used to reverse the damage already done to the soul. That was impossible. Grey had already thought of ways to do it, but nothing—not even his comprehension—had an answer to it.

In the end, soul integrity could be raised by doing one thing: devouring planes of existence. And his assimilating with the lesser heaven had increased it as well.

Acquiring the Lesser Heaven was perhaps the greatest gift he had ever received.