Xuanyan nodded slowly, but many questions still lingered in his mind. In most of the xianxia stories he had read, cultivators advanced primarily through inner cultivation.
They strengthened themselves from within. By absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they refined it inside the dantian and circulated it through their meridians, gradually tempering both body and soul.
As cultivation deepened, their qi became denser and purer. Their bodies grew stronger, their spiritual senses expanded, and their control over techniques improved. When a cultivator finally stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm, their internal spiritual foundation stabilized, allowing them to wield far greater power than before.
This path focused entirely on strengthening the cultivator themselves. Their power came from their own body, their own qi, and the stability of the spiritual foundation they built through years of cultivation.
