His mind felt slow, foggy, and heavy. Thinking was a laborious endeavor for him.
The best that he can do in his current state is understand that the soul is the foundation of the nascent soul realm. That was a no-brainer for him, so it was easy to understand. But he can't figure out what that had to do with him.
So he asked tentatively, "So I was trying to advance to the fifth mortal coil? That can't be right. I'm not ready."
This made Thunder Drake chuckle and say, "You are right about that. You were not ready at all. You would have died had you continued with the endeavor."
Arthur was still confused, but this time, he was also shocked. His shock was very evident in his voice as he asked, "What happened? How did it happen?"
Thunder Drake explained patiently. But he started with a question. "Have you ever wondered how the first nascent soul cultivators appeared?"
Arthur shook his head and said, "I don't even know exactly how one breaks through from the golden core realm to the nascent soul realm."
This made Thunder Drake nod in understanding and say, "That would explain why you went ahead with the endeavor even though you were not ready. You were ignorant and didn't know what you were doing."
"Let me explain then. The process of advancing to the fifth mortal coil involves liberating your soul from the cage that is called the body. This is done by using something greater than the body to entice and pull the soul out of the body or using something very strong to nourish the soul and push it out from within the body."
"These two approaches are called the external or internal methods. The external method is the method that was used by ancient cultivators, while the internal method is what we use nowadays."
"Nowadays, in order to advance to the nascent soul realm, golden core cultivators learn a powerful secret technique that is beyond their realm."
"This secret technique must be one that allows their energy and mind to come into contact with a powerful state of energy or concept. It is only such a technique that can be used to nourish the soul and push it out of the body."
"The exact process of advancement is that once the technique has been mastered and the golden core cultivator has reached the limit of their cultivation, they will enter seclusion in which they shut down all of their physical activities and then focus all of their energy on nourishing the soul with the secret technique."
"This process resembles sleeping. It can take a year or a hundred years. Those who succeed will come out of seclusion as nascent soul cultivators. Those who fail will never awaken from slumber. They will die silently in sleep, never to be heard from ever again."
"So the process is very dangerous. It is not something that one can start and pause midway. The only outcomes are success or death."
"The chance of success of advancing to the fifth mortal coil is 10%. Despite how low this is, it is still ten times higher than the ancient external method."
Arthur felt shaken when he heard this. But this shock was only temporary because he was used to the danger of advancement at this point.
Even so, he couldn't help but ask with a frown on his face. "Sorry to interrupt, patriarch. But why is it so low?"
Thunder Drake replied, "Because the soul was never meant to leave the body. There is a reason why it is shackled by the body. It is both from protection and support."
"Without the protection and support of the body, the soul can scatter. Besides that, the process of pushing the soul out of the body can also be detrimental to the soul."
"For example, people who use the Lightning Vessel Sigil technique have to use the powerful lightning from the heavens to push their souls out of their bodies. This is very dangerous, and it can cause the soul to dissipate quickly."
This made Arthur understand. He said, "I see."
So Patriarch Thunder Drake continued his explanation. "Like I was saying, as bad as this process is, it is better than the ancient method. This is because the internal method is an evolved method that was derived from the experience of the ancient cultivators."
"The ancient cultivators didn't have any secret technique that they could learn. They didn't have any mentor explaining how to break through to the fifth mortal coil. Many of them didn't even know that the fifth mortal coil existed."
"For many ancient cultivators, the golden core was the peak of cultivation. The fifth mortal coil was regarded as a myth or a legend. So many ancient cultivators that tried to break through were ignorant of what they were doing."
"They were ignorant and unprepared; so many of them died during the attempt. This only fueled the common sense that the golden core realm was the limit and anyone who tried to advance was only seeking death."
"For those who succeeded through the ancient method, they did so by chance. They lived their life ignorant of a way forward. But one day, they had an epiphany and understood a great truth of the world."
"This sudden understanding of the world caused the energy in their golden core to rush into their minds to nourish their souls. The more they understand of this great truth, the more their minds will expand and the more their souls will be enticed out of their bodies."
"But if they stop chasing the truth, or fail to understand it at some point, or run out of energy in their golden core, their mind and soul will collapse, which will lead to their death."
"These three things can happen to cause them to fail. But what makes them fail the most is the lack of preparation. Instead of making preparations and going into seclusion where they will not be disturbed, they can begin advancing anywhere while doing anything."