Yin Sha, after all, was merely a byproduct of exotic and ferocious beasts, a refinement of their malevolent energy. As the seeds of divine abilities condensed, the Yin Sha would accumulate to a point where it could corrupt a cultivator's very spirit.
At this stage, although stronger malevolent energy could still be absorbed, and a cultivator's power could continue to grow beyond this limit, the prerequisite was the preservation of one's sanity and self. To pursue greater strength at the cost of becoming an imbecile was undeniably contrary to a cultivator's original intent.
Therefore, this was not the limit of condensing malevolent energy, but rather the limit of the Yin Sha realm, a stage in cultivation.
Beyond the Yin Sha realm, cultivators would then introduce Yang Gang, malevolent energy that was not derived from exotic or ferocious beasts, but existed independently in the world, pervading both the heavens and the earth. This was a necessary condition for advancing to the next stage.
If Yin Sha was the extraction of malevolent energy from exotic beasts,
Then Yang Gang was the extraction of a gas hidden deep within the earth or high in the sky.
Typically, at altitudes of a thousand meters or in depths of a thousand meters underground, this gas could be collected through special means.
Of course, just as there were different types of Yin Sha, Yang Gang also had its variations.
Various types of Yang Gang possessed different effects, and when integrated with Yin Sha, they could enhance a cultivator's resistance to it.
This, in turn, allowed cultivators to absorb more Yin Sha, raising their upper limit.
With the convergence of Yin and Yang, after condensing forty-nine strands of Yang Gang and one hundred and eight strands of Yin Sha, one could attempt to condense a core, not an external pill, but an inner core.
This marked the third stage of cultivation: the Core Condensation realm.
Mo informed Quan that through the exploration of countless cultivators, with immeasurable bloodshed and tears, these three realms had finally been discovered and perfected.
Generally, once malevolent energy condensed to a certain degree, and numerous divine ability seeds were formed in the Yin Sha realm, the innate divine abilities of exotic beasts would be sufficient to contend with those possessing bloodlines of the twentieth or nineteenth rank.
This would already meet Quan's goal.
Upon achieving the Yang Gang realm, one could contend with those of the sixteenth or seventeenth bloodline concentration, making even these lowest-tier nobles no difficult opponents.
In other words, once Quan cultivated to the Yang Gang realm, he would be comparable to the offspring of the elders, or even the elders themselves, within the Qingyang tribe.
As for the Core Condensation realm, it would at least allow one to rival nobles of the fourteenth bloodline concentration, which meant being on par with the Qingyang tribe leader.
Simply put, tribe leader level.
According to the statistics of the previous Human King, the entire human race comprised over forty thousand human tribes.
A tribe leader was already considered quite remarkable.
Although a tribe leader from the desolate southern lands held less prestige than one from the prosperous northern lands – a tribe leader in the north required at least a tenth-rank bloodline concentration; a fourteenth-rank concentration would not qualify them – this did not affect cultivators in the south.
Mo was a cultivator in the Yin Sha realm, having condensed two divine ability seeds, enabling him to wield one innate divine ability for combat and another for evasion.
He had also cultivated "Three Yin Sha Qi," which possessed an extremely chilling nature, capable of freezing opponents in combat, whether they were exotic beasts or commoners.
Mo himself was equivalent to a being with a bloodline concentration of the nineteenth rank. After accepting Quan, he vigorously spread the teachings within the Qingyang tribe, aiming to have numerous commoners cultivate the immortal path.
This would further increase the collective number of cultivators.
As a preacher, Mo naturally did not come solely for Quan.
His purpose in coming to the Qingyang tribe was to spread the teachings widely here, to the many commoners who lacked bloodline power.
Following this preaching, indeed, many commoners, and even some humans with bloodline abilities, yearned for the immortal path.
Some humans, though possessing bloodline power, had low concentrations, very low. The so-called twenty-first or twentieth bloodline ranks were only slightly stronger than commoners, insufficient to be considered nobles.
The Core Condensation realm, with its bloodline power comparable to the fourteenth rank, was naturally something they aspired to.
They held onto a sliver of hope, or perhaps with the mindset of "it wouldn't hurt to try," they accepted Mo's teachings, recorded the knowledge of the immortal path, and many even planned to accompany Mo to the sacred land of cultivators – Mount Taihang.
This was a city established by a collective of cultivators, boasting dozens of Immortal Dao experts in the Core Condensation realm.
The cultivation atmosphere was dense. Whether in terms of acquiring immortal resources or interacting with fellow cultivators, heading to Mount Taihang, the sacred land of cultivators, clearly offered greater progress than remaining in the Qingyang tribe.
Mo's actions were a blatant attempt to recruit people for the Qingyang tribe.
The commoners of the Qingyang tribe rejoiced, but the faces of the Qingyang tribe leader and elders were extremely grim.
A tribe's strength was limited.
Even commoners could provide labor for the higher echelons, such as farming and crafting clothing.
If another tribe had done something like this, it would be considered a direct provocation, and the Qingyang tribe leader and elders would have treated it as an act of war.
However, the one doing this was a preacher among cultivators, a representative dispatched from the sacred land of cultivation at Mount Taihang.
The Qingyang tribe leader and elders could only harbor their anger in silence.
The Mount Taihang cultivation group had dozens of Core Condensation realm cultivators, equivalent to dozens of tribe leader-level combatants.
If the large tribes in the south could still hold some sway and negotiation power with the Mount Taihang cultivation group,
Then a small tribe like Qingyang, even if its leader and elders were far stronger than Mo, let alone a mere Yin Sha realm cultivator, even a Yang Gang realm cultivator could easily suppress them with a flip of their hand. But after suppression, they would have to face the oppression of the Mount Taihang cultivation group.
The Qingyang tribe leader and elders could not bear the wrath of the Mount Taihang cultivation group.
Mo observed the reactions of the Qingyang tribe's high-ranking officials without saying a word.
As an early member of the Mount Taihang cultivation group and holding the position of preacher, Mo was well aware of the nature of these nobles.
In the earliest days, when hundreds of pioneers attempted to cultivate and create the methods of immortal cultivation, many suffered qi deviation, becoming cripples or going mad. During that time, the nobles utterly disdained the pioneers' attempts.
Those who had some knowledge at the time mocked these pioneers for their ignorant audacity, for daring to try and improve their bloodline power, to gain extraordinary abilities?
To escape the commoner class?
How naive! Bloodline, since ancient times, was determined from birth.
From the Human Emperor to the successive Human Kings, it had always been so.
And the current Human King was far inferior to the first Human Emperor. If there were truly a method to advance bloodline ranks, would such a method, undiscovered even by the Human King, be discovered by mere commoners?
This was clearly impossible.