Chen Yu settled down on the thin sleeping mat with the book in his lap, opening it carefully to read it properly this time without rushing through.
The pages were yellowed with age but the ink remained clear and perfectly readable, each character still sharp despite however many years had passed since someone first wrote them. He started from the very beginning, not wanting to miss anything that might turn out important later.
The opening section talked about the creation of the world in a traditional daoist format, describing how the primordial chaos separated itself into heaven and earth, how the myriad things came to be from that initial division.
It was written in a poetic style that reminded Chen Yu of the classical texts he'd skimmed in his old life back on Earth, though he'd never paid much attention to them back then when philosophy seemed useless compared to a stable paycheck.
Then came a passage that made him pause and read more carefully, his eyes slowing down:
"Before the beginning, there was only the Void, endless, formless, eternal. From within this Void stirred the Dao, and from the Dao's first breath came forth all creation. The Heavens rose while the Earth sank, and between them the Ten Thousand Things blossomed like lotus flowers emerging from still water."
"When creation had taken its shape, a voice echoed through the souls of all beings, ancient beyond measure, carrying the weight of infinite understanding:"
"I practiced till my body bent
a crane beneath the sky's intent.
Two books of truth beneath the pines,
their pages breathe like wind through time.
I came to ask the Way, yet found
no word could hold that holy sound.
Just clouds that wander where they please,
and water whispering to the breeze."
"In hearing this voice, all who lived, be they mortal, beast, or spirit, comprehended the truth of cultivation. This echo of the primordial became the wellspring from which all methods and techniques would flow through the ages."
Chen Yu read the passage several times over, trying to grasp any hidden meaning that might be buried in the poetic language, but it remained frustratingly vague and philosophical in that way old texts always seemed to be. He shook his head and continued reading, hoping the rest would contain more practical information he could actually use.
The next section finally got into useful details that made his pulse quicken. It laid out the five great realms of mortal cultivation in clear terms:
Body Refining, where practitioners tempered their flesh to handle spiritual energy without exploding from the strain.
Qi Refining, where they finally began absorbing energy from heaven and earth into their bodies.
Foundation Establishment, described as a great threshold that killed most who attempted the breakthrough.
Core Condensing, where all that spiritual energy formed into something tangible.
And finally Golden Core, the peak of the mortal stage where one could supposedly live for five hundred years.
Each description made Chen Yu's heart race faster as he read. The power described in each realm seemed almost impossible, beyond anything humans on Earth could dream of, and yet according to the book these were just the beginning stages that any cultivator would naturally pass through on their journey.
The book then explained Spirit Roots in detail and how they determined a cultivator's talent from birth.
Most people had all five elements present in their root, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which made cultivation slow and difficult since the spiritual energy had to be filtered through all five. Better were those blessed with fewer elements, their cultivation naturally faster and smoother.
Single element roots were considered heaven-blessed geniuses who could advance at shocking speeds. There were also rare mutated roots mentioned like lightning or ice that didn't fit the standard five elements, and even rarer Special Physiques that granted incredible advantages to those lucky enough to be born with them.
Next came a lengthy section on the various professions available to cultivators beyond simple combat.
Alchemy, the art of refining medicinal pills from spiritual herbs.
Talisman creation, inscribing temporary formations onto specially prepared paper. Array formation, weaving permanent protective or gathering formations into the land itself. Artifact refining, forging weapons and tools from spiritual materials that could channel energy.
The book mentioned many other paths as well, beast taming, poison cultivation, music dao, even stranger ones, each offering different opportunities and advantages for those who pursued them with dedication.
Finally, at the end of the introductory section after pages of theory and explanation, Chen Yu found what he'd been searching for:
"To walk the path, one must first perceive what cannot be seen. Sit in stillness, empty your mind like pouring water from a cup until nothing remains. Spiritual energy moves through the world like an invisible river flowing around all things. With patience and persistence, your perception will gradually awaken to its current. Those lacking talent may struggle for months or even years. Heaven's favorites may sense it within hours of their first attempt. But all who persist without giving up will eventually touch this truth, and in that moment, they take their first step toward immortality."
Chen Yu closed the book slowly and let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His mind was racing with everything he'd just learned, trying to organize it all into something coherent and useful.
The cultivation world was vast and complex beyond anything he'd imagined, with so many different paths and possibilities branching off in every direction.
He could become a powerful fighter who split mountains with a gesture, or focus on alchemy and create miraculous pills, or study formations and protect entire cities, or pursue any combination of things that interested him.
But first, before any of that became possible, he needed to actually start cultivating properly. He needed to sense spiritual energy flowing through the world and begin tempering his body to handle it. Without that basic foundation, all the rest was just fantasy and daydreaming.
His eyes drifted to the five translucent stones sitting next to him on the mat where he'd set them aside earlier. Now that he'd read about cultivation and understood the basics, he had a pretty good idea what these were.
Spirit stones, crystallized spiritual energy that cultivators used as both currency and cultivation resources, valuable enough that people killed over them regularly.
Chen Yu picked one up carefully between his fingers, feeling the faint warmth radiating from it and the gentle pulse of energy contained within like a tiny heartbeat.