That night, the moon shone bright and clear.
Li Chijing sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his breath deep and concentrated as he began to condense the third Spiritual Wheel of Zhouxing.
The human body is a profound mystery, with twelve meridians and three Dantian: upper, middle, and lower. The "Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture" mentions:
"The lower Dantian stores essence; the middle Dantian stores Qi; the upper Dantian stores the spirit."
Among the Six Wheels of Fetal Breathing, the Xuanjing, Zhouxing, and Yujing Wheels are called the Three Fetal Passes and are particularly difficult to master. The key lies in condensing a Spiritual Wheel from nothing within the different Dantians.
The remaining three wheels are relatively easy. For instance, after the Xuanjing Wheel is condensed in the Sea of Qi Acupoint of the lower Dantian, one only needs to focus on breathing in and out, and the Chengming Wheel will naturally arise from within the Sea of Qi Acupoint.
The Zhouxing Wheel is located at the Jueque Court, the very place where the body stores Qi. After condensation, mana flows continuously, circulating throughout the body. With mana attached to the eyes, one can see for thousands of miles; attached to the feet, one can walk as if on air, running up and down walls with ease.
Li Chijing adjusted himself for a quarter of an hour until he felt his Sea of Qi Acupoint was full and the two Spiritual Wheels were continuously entwining. Pinching the spell, he channeled the energy from the Stone Gate, Guan Yuan, Divine Que, and Life Gate acupoints, converging it at the Jueque Court, attempting to condense the Spiritual Wheel.
Lu Jiangxian was actively employing his Divine Sense to watch over Li Chijing, having cast a Calming Incantation on him, while Li Tongya and Li Xiangping stood by as his protectors.
As he watched Li Chijing make hand signs in preparation for breakthrough, Lu Jiangxian suddenly felt an ominous sensation and sensed a powerful aura rapidly approaching from afar, heading straight for Da Li Mountain.
After comparing their strengths, Lu Jiangxian made a decisive call. His Divine Sense receded like a tide into the Mirror, no longer absorbing the moonlight streaming from the skylight. He lay in the dark chamber of the temple as if he were a real bronze mirror.
In just a few breaths, a green streak of light crossed over the Li family's property. Feeling the aura move away, Lu Jiangxian was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that streak of light casually turn back, slowly hovering above the Li family compound.
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Si Yuanbai emerged from his breakthrough at Qing Sui Peak, his cultivation level having advanced. He planned to search for the negativity of a Pig Demon in Da Li Mountain, so he rode a Flying Shuttle and headed south along the ancient Lidao.
"That great battle left the North Foothills of Da Li Mountain devoid of spirit mechanisms, with the Earth Vein in chaos. Now, three hundred years later, the Earth Vein and spirit mechanisms are slowly recovering, and quite a few demons have grown into a force to be reckoned with."
Approaching Da Li Mountain, Si Yuanbai was surprised to find quite a number of villages at its base, especially along the banks of the unnamed river, where clusters of villages seemed to thrive.
"The war cleansed the heavens and the earth, wiping out the demons of the North Foothills and severing the spirit mechanisms, inadvertently creating a fine dwelling for these mortals."
Si Yuanbai looked down, and to his surprise, he spotted a flicker of mana within the small village below. Curiosity arose within him.
He had thought it was just some minor demon causing trouble, but with his spiritual vision under the moonlight, he saw a handsome young man sitting cross-legged. Not only that, but there were two other young men with similar features standing by, seemingly also possessors of mana.
"Now, this is indeed peculiar; the youth is breaking through his bottleneck with no elders to watch over him."
Si Yuanbai's Divine Sense swept lightly over the village, finding no other mana fluctuations. With a bemused chuckle, he mused:
"Perhaps he's the outstanding progeny left behind by some Daoist fellow."
Below, Li Chijing remained unaware of Si Yuanbai's presence. Instead, he found fortune amidst his unwavering attempts at condensing the Wheel. As questions within the spell resolved, streams of mana rapidly converged within the Jueque Court. The crystalline Spiritual Wheel took shape swiftly as though it had been practiced thousands of times before, familiarity in every move.
"What an outstanding youth!"
Si Yuanbai stroked his beard with a nod, softly expressing his admiration.
Cultivating immortality is fraught with peril and hardship; possessing a Spirit Aperture is just the beginning. Success depends upon fortune, understanding, will, and one's family background, Sect, and cultivation techniques.
This youth's perception and talent were both not bad, and his cultivation technique was also profound, but in this remote village in the deep mountains, how much provisions for immortal cultivation could he possibly access, and how many secret spell notes could he obtain? In the end, he could only achieve Qi Cultivation, and after two hundred years vanish into smoke and dust.
The path to immortal cultivation is long and arduous, with countless heroes broken and buried in the sands and numerous talents dead along with their clans.
Slowly descending the flying shuttle, Si Yuanbai pinched a spell and cast an invisibility technique, sitting atop an artificial hill in the courtyard, leisurely watching the people below.
But then, a mortal old man walked into the courtyard, and the young protector spoke:
"Father."
Hearing this, Si Yuanbai's expression suddenly turned strange. One in a thousand with a spirit aperture, and yet here were three in one family. Could this be the seed of that mortal old man?
Observing that his mana was rich and pure, he must have a profound technique. No doubt he was the illegitimate child of some Taoist fellow who accidentally left him behind. Cultivators seldom have offspring, and when they do, they dare not bring them home, thus leaving them to be raised and cultured in the village.
"However, since all three children possess spirit apertures, this Taoist fellow's cultivation level must be above Foundation Establishment."
Although the higher a cultivator's cultivation level, the harder it is to have children, the likelihood that their offspring will possess spirit apertures increases significantly. One or two out of ten Qi Cultivators achieve this, and after Foundation Establishment, the chances rise to fifty percent. Since all these three children have spirit apertures, their father is certainly a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
As for Zifu? The entire Yue Country could hardly gather a handful of them. The venerable Zifu don't need to make do in this small village. Even if they had an illegitimate child to bring home, who would dare to speak out? They would be worshipped like little ancestral spirits.
Seeing that the youth below had finished his practice and was speaking with a look of joy on his face:
"Father, I've made a breakthrough!"
The members of the Li family naturally burst into joy, while Si Yuanbai on the artificial hill watched him and thought to himself:
"This ancient Lidao to Li Mountain has had many mortals but no cultivator to guard it for three hundred years since that great battle. Now that the earth veins are restored and the spirit mechanism gradually recovering, this place should return to the control of the sect sooner rather than later."
"It might be best to make use of these individuals as affiliates of the sect, to guard this place. Leveraging the prestige of that Foundation Establishment senior, they could indeed keep all sorts of demons at bay."
The Green Pond Sect controlled the five southern prefectures of Yue Country and naturally had a system of governance in place. The sect only dispatched disciples to manage the cities, while they utilized marriages and blood ties between the noble families of the cultivation world to control the lower levels.
They forced noble families to cultivate raw materials and provide a large supply of low-level human labor with elixirs and magic artifacts. They also harvested the noble families' outstanding disciples every year to strengthen the sect. This method has been recognized as a good practice within the cultivation world, and the Green Pond Sect has been using it for more than five hundred years since its establishment.
"It wouldn't hurt to also form a good relationship with that Foundation Establishment cultivator along the way.
Thinking this, Si Yuanbai pinched a spell and revealed his form, drifting lightly into the courtyard.
Li Chijin was still reveling in the sensation of his mana flowing ceaselessly through the Zhouxing Wheel, but he saw a figure in green clothes appearing out of thin air in the courtyard.
The person was dressed in green, looked between thirty and forty, had a handsome and elegant appearance with a warm and gentle smile, and was wearing a glowing sword on his waist that made him seem ethereal and detached.
Li Chijin and the others immediately tensed up as if facing a formidable enemy, swiftly protecting Li Mutian behind them, and Li Tongya asked in a low voice:
"Who are you, sir?"
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PS: There will be another update tonight.