At this point, Bai Ye already had quite a few tricks up his sleeve.
With Innate Qi coursing through his body, his physical strength had skyrocketed. Internal force refined into qi gave his martial arts moves far greater impact — every Wudang technique hit harder, faster, cleaner.
On top of that, the Golden Light Mantra he'd learned from the Daoist Codex — a top-tier technique from the Longhu Sect — was both offense and defense in one.
The best part?
Neither his martial arts nor the Golden Light Mantra required him to grind endlessly anymore. The more his qi increased, the more powerful those arts would naturally become — like breathing life into steel.
So his first task was clear: master Pure Yang Limitless Art and reach its completion stage as quickly as possible. Once he reached that point, the technique would circulate in his body automatically, drawing in spiritual energy with every breath.
But Bai Ye wasn't about to waste his inner landscape's precious time just polishing the basics.
He had a full comprehension buff — MAX (full enlightenment) — so he was going to challenge something hard.
And that something was Wind-After Qimen .
⚙️ The Art of Heaven and Earth
According to the Daoist Codex, Qimen Dunjia dates back to ancient times.
In the age when the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou, Chiyou's army had many demon spirits capable of summoning storms and shaping the weather. The Yellow Emperor was pushed to the brink — until the Mysterious Maiden of the Nine Heavens descended and taught him the Qimen Dunjia.
The Yellow Emperor reversed the war, triumphed, and later passed the art to his aide, Wind-After, who spent years refining it. The simplified, more adaptable version passed down to later Daoists became known as Wind-After Qimen.
Bai Ye chose to study it for two reasons.
First, because it was insanely hard.
The foundation of Qimen was to form arrays with qi and manipulate the four divine plates — Heaven, Earth, Man, and Spirit — through the Eight Trigrams.
It sounded poetic… but in practice, it was a nightmare of calculations.
During battle, one had to know not only one's own position in the trigrams but also the opponent's — to decide which element, direction, and energy to invoke for each exchange.
Without MAX comprehension, Bai Ye doubted he'd even get past page one.
The second reason?
At its peak, Wind-After Qimen could make its user a walking world.
In early stages, you had to rely on heaven and earth for power.
At the highest stage — you were heaven and earth.
"I am the director.
I am fortune and misfortune itself."
At that level, Bai Ye could call upon the world's forces — not merely borrow them.
And the difference between borrowing and commanding was like that between candlelight and the sun.
Of course, such mastery wasn't something he could achieve overnight.
So Bai Ye also planned to pick up a few "side skills" for variety.
🔧 Other Disciplines He Chose
Refining Tools:
According to the Codex, a true practitioner could forge anything, channeling natural energies into their crafted items. Bai Ye didn't plan to wield a weapon, but creating travel gear or trinkets for the crew sounded handy.
Alchemy:
Different from Wudang's "internal alchemy," this was about actual pills. And as Bai Ye liked to joke — in battle, popping pills is the highest form of respect for your opponent.
Talismans:
Versatile, powerful, and practical. A must-learn for any Daoist worth his salt.
After what felt like two thousand words' worth of contemplation, Bai Ye finally drew up his cultivation roadmap.
According to his timing with Koby, he'd have three days in the real world — meaning about a month inside the inner landscape.
Tight schedule. Heavy task.
So he dove right in.
Mountains forget the years, and time in the inner realm flows without end…
When Bai Ye emerged from his room, the pirate ship was already nearing port.
"Yo, Bai Ye! Are you done sleeping?" Luffy grinned from the rail.
Bai Ye smiled faintly. "You could say that. The time was short, but… productive."
In truth, a full month of nonstop cultivation had nearly driven him insane. Even a patient Wudang monk wasn't built to meditate for that long. He was starting to suspect that the "ancient immortals" who secluded themselves for ten thousand years were probably all half-crazy.
That was also why he'd begun stepping out during meal times — just to keep his sanity intact.
"Well then," Luffy said brightly, slamming a fist into his palm. "Let's go find that pirate hunter and make him our crewmate!"
Bai Ye smiled at Luffy's boundless energy. "You go on ahead. I have something to take care of at the Marine base."
"Eh? But we're pirates now, aren't we supposed to avoid the Marines?"
Even Luffy blinked at that.
"Normally, yes," Bai Ye said with a calm grin. "But right now we're just rookies — no bounty, no ship of our own. As long as we don't say anything, who'd guess we're pirates?"
In the original story, Luffy and Koby had arrived here in a little rowboat. Bai Ye's decision to bring the entire captured pirate ship was deliberate — part of his next plan.
"Oh, right," Bai Ye said suddenly, "before you head ashore, let me show you something fun."
"Something fun?!" Luffy's eyes lit up instantly. "What is it!?"
The three of them went below deck to the treasure hold, where Koby had carefully bundled up all the loot they'd taken from Alvida's crew.
"Luffy, watch closely. Don't blink," Bai Ye said.
He placed his palm on the bundle. His mind stirred.
Swish—
"Na…ni?!" Koby's jaw dropped. The bundle — the whole thing — vanished into thin air.
He'd packed that treasure himself! How could it just disappear!?
"Su-goi!!!" Luffy squealed, rushing over to paw at Bai Ye's robes. "You're a magician, right!? Where'd you hide it!? Come on, tell me!"
Bai Ye: "...Hey! Don't touch it there, you idiot!"
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614