Chapter 16
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Under the watchful gaze of the tiger, a faint spiritual light began to shimmer around Qi Wuhuo. With his eyes half-closed, the young man guided his Primordial Spirit, following the orthodox method he just learned, to harness his vital energy and circulate it throughout his entire body.
With the aid of the spiritual liquid, even the slightly spiritual mountain-dwelling foxes, possessing only a trace of intelligence, were able to enter a state of deep meditation, instinctively stepping into a realm of obscurity, practicing under instinct. It was only natural that Qi Wuhuo, with his superior aptitude, could easily enter such a state.
In this state, he could faintly sense the mysterious existence within his limbs and bones.
It was indescribable by words, but its priceless nature was palpable.
Qi Wuhuo instinctively followed the method taught by the tiger, gathering and refining the intangible and formless [Primordial Energy of All Things].
The process was slow but unmistakably real. Qi Wuhuo’s vital energy flowed naturally through his flesh and blood, and at that moment, the method taught by the old man suddenly surfaced in his mind——
When the heart is empty, the Spirit concentrates; when the Spirit concentrates, Qi gathers; when Qi gathers, Essence is born.
This was the Dao.
Between action and inaction.
The process of gathering and refining Essence was the path of action, while allowing Qi to gather and give birth to Essence was the path of inaction.
There was no need to separate the two.
At that instant, Qi Wuhuo experienced a sudden moment of enlightenment, as if the yin and yang fish had perfectly aligned. The process of refining Primordial Essence accelerated significantly, yet it remained balanced, neither too fast nor too slow, like the wind gently stirring lotus blossoms. Qi Wuhuo’s Primordial Spirit hovered above the process, and he grasped the subtle profundity that the old man had described of commanding Qi with the Spirit.
In this hazy, dreamlike state, he was unaware of where he was or how much time had passed.
Eventually, the mysterious sensation coming from his limbs and bones began to converge in his lower dantian, gradually forming into a faint point of spiritual light.
It was as though a new river channel had been carved open.
The Primordial Essence in his body began to naturally gather.
The Primordial Essence was in the lower dantian, the Yuan Qi in the middle dantian, and the Primordial Spirit at the center of the brow. Together, the three formed a faint cycle: Primordial Essence was the foundation of life, Primordial Qi was the harmony of flesh and blood, and the Primordial Spirit was the essence of one’s self.
In that moment when all Three Treasures manifested, Qi Wuhuo finally experienced a sensation of stepping onto the path of cultivation, different from before. It was as if he had previously viewed the world and himself like looking at flowers in the fog, but now, while it couldn’t be said that the fog had completely lifted, what he saw was no longer obscured; rather, it had slightly cleared. He suddenly felt a sudden sense of awareness. The Primordial Essence sank down, the Primordial Qi surged upward, and the Primordial Spirit moved in response, instinctively causing the young man to tilt his head.
At this moment, it was merely a dried leaf that had fallen to Qi Wuhuo’s hair. A curious white monkey reached out to touch Qi Wuhuo, attempting to help remove the leaf, but despite the monkey’s quickness and agility, it failed to touch him.
Qi Wuhuo tilted his head slightly, just enough for the monkey to brush past.
It was momentarily stunned.
Then, it saw the young man open his eyes, his expression calm.
His body was covered in morning dew.
Only then did the monkey react, its eyes wide with disbelief.
Had it been avoided?!
No, it wasn’t an evasion; it was as if the young man had known in advance that it would reach out its claws and had acted preemptively…
The monkey was filled with confusion as it stared at its own claws.
It had already begun to show signs of becoming a spirit, having devoured spiritual herbs with Primordial Essence at its core, and by a stroke of luck, it had obtained a strand of baleful qi from a three hundred years old Geng Jin Yuan Iron, developing a form of Geng Jin spirit power. This human seemed so ordinary, yet he was capable of predicting and avoiding its movements?
[TL_Note: Geng Jin refers to one of the Five Elements (五行), which are Wood (木), Fire (火), Earth (土), Metal (金), and Water (水). Geng is one of the Heavenly Stems in Chinese cosmology, often associated with the Metal element. Jin simply means Metal]
The extremely powerful tiger, over a ten-foot long, stood up and looked at Qi Wuhuo, his expression uncertain.
“…Is this your first time refining Primordial Essence?”
Qi Wuhuo nodded: “I must thank the Mountain God for clearing my doubts.”
“No, no need…”
The mighty tiger shook its head.
Its amber eyes gazed at Qi Wuhuo, and its voice rumbled low:
“What a talent… such great potential…”
Seeing that Qi Wuhuo seemed puzzled about the source of its sentiment, the tiger sighed and returned to the large flat bluestone, lying down upon it. It said:
“Primordial Essence is the treasure of all living beings, and must be retrieved when walking path to the Great Dao.”
After pondering for a long time, it continued: “How do you view my cultivation?”
Qi Wuhuo gazed at the tiger, which was over ten feet long with distinctive white markings, and thought of his large cauldron, refined through nine turns of fire, as if the entire mountain had been intoxicated. He also recalled the monsters he had seen in when he was a child and said: “Truly formidable.”
The tiger accepted the compliment, saying with emotion: “I have cultivated to this point, occupying the veins of sixteen mountains to nourish my vital energy and refine my divine powers. Those who come and go are mountain gods and earth deities. The land gods and city gods address me as the Mountain Lord, while the various demons and true spirits avoid my path when they encounter me. Real cultivators are respectful of me, and restless souls and ghosts fear me.”
“To occupy the blessings of a piece of land is to enjoy a lifespan of five hundred years.”
“However, the Primordial Essense I have cultivated is also due to my youth when I consumed half of a five-hundred-year-old Huangjing by chance. After thirty years of cultivation, the Primordial Essence was formed, the Primordial Qi arose, and the Essence and Qi united, becoming Innate Qi.”
“But it still pales in comparison to you.”
The tiger lamented: “One could say that humans are ultimately more spiritual than beasts, or perhaps you are not an ordinary person?”
Qi Wuhuo suddenly asked: “Five hundred-year-old Huangjing?”
The striped tiger laughed and replied: “Indeed, it was the very thousand-year Huangjing that you found. In my youth, I devoured half of it and nearly ruined its Dao. Later, after roaming the eighteen provinces, I promised it that I would protect its cultivation for a thousand years.”
“Because you did not harm it, I invited you here to listen to the Dao.”
The five-hundred-year-old tiger gazed intently at Qi Wuhuo.
This person’s talent is so extraordinary. Although the path of cultivation has its hurdles at every step, this individual has the potential to cultivate Innate Qi in the future. Going one set further, achieving the realm of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown would allow them to be called a True Person by the Daoist sects, and practitioners of others’ paths would also show respect upon meeting them. In terms of overall strength, they would be at a level capable of establishing a sect and teaching their methods in a beautiful and serene location.
Thus, the striped tiger, in its demeanor, had gradually shifted from its initial heroic bearing to a more composed attitude of equality. The mountain spirit beasts, who had begun to taste this change, all displayed expressions of astonishment and disbelief, wondering why a mere mortal, who had yet to even manifest their divine powers, was so highly regarded by the mountain god.
Qi Wuhuo and the Tiger Mountain God discussed how to retrieve and cultivate the Primordial Essence Life Treasure.
They continued this exchange until the sun reached its zenith. When the Mountain God noticed Qi Wuhuo’s intention to leave, it smiled and asked: “I see that Wuhuo came with a basket, were you here looking for medicinal herbs? If there’s anything you need, just tell me. As long as it’s found in these mountains, I’ll gladly provide it to you.”
Qi Wuhuo noticed the deer spirit freeze in place, its tail stopping mid-sway.
He saw the green snake halt its tongue and the spirit fox lower its head, realizing that they were all cultivating spiritual herbs. The mountain god had shown them some favor and imparted teachings; the requests made by Qi Wuhuo would not be refused by these mountain spirits. However, they still feared that Qi Wuhuo might ask for too much, taking away the precious herbs they had painstakingly gathered.
The young man winked at the little deer, then lifted his basket and smiled as he replied:
“It’s noon, and there are elders at home. I came to gather some mountain goods.”
“If possible, I would love to have some winter bamboo shoots.”
“I need to visit a friend tomorrow and would like to bring a gift.”
After hearing Qi Wuhuo’s reason for coming, the mountain god laughed heartily, saying: “There aren’t many other good things in the mountains, but winter goods are plentiful! We have more than enough, so come, let’s prepare a farewell gift for my guest!”
At once, many mountain spirits sprang into action.
A spirit snake, as thick as a bowl, balanced a crimson fruit on its head, while the spirit fox carried ginseng in its mouth. The monkey, which had cultivated Geng Jin spirit power, held a gourd of wine. In addition, winter bamboo shoots, mountain vegetables, and kudzu roots were gathered in abundance. Qi Wuhuo was taken aback.
“This is…”
The young man quickly came to his senses and exclaimed: “This is too much.”
The tiger laughed heartily, saying: “You treat us as friends and you didn’t extort us for spiritual herbs.”
“Therefore, I regard you as a friend too!”
“A true friend should never leave empty-handed on their first visit!”
The tiger’s paws controlled the wind, gesturing Qi Wuhuo not to obstruct.
It then added with a smile:
“Don’t worry; all of this is my own accumulation from roaming the world. I won’t be taking from them, so there’s no need to be polite!”
Before Qi Wuhuo could refuse, his small basket was already filled with various mountain goods, including some aged spiritual herbs, ginseng, Huangjing, and Zhicao, along with a gourd of wine brewed from a hundred flowers and fruits. The familiar deer spirit even gifted him a rather large piece of Huangjing. Qi Wuhuo reached out to pat its head, causing the deer spirit to close its eyes in pleasure and nuzzle against his palm.
The tiger mountain god accompanied Qi Wuhuo until they reached a spot on the mountainside before stopping and advising:
“There’s not much going on in the mountains. If you have leisure, feel free to come up often to discuss the Dao.”
After watching Qi Wuhuo leave, it turned around and returned to the mountain.
Qi Wuhuo moved swiftly down the mountain and arrived home. Pushing open the door, he found the old man still brewing tea, waiting for him to prepare dinner. Qi Wuhuo placed the items from his basket into the storeroom, took out ten or so coins, and went to buy a pound of cured meat and some vegetables. Upon returning, he sliced the winter bamboo shoots and simmered them along with the Huangjing gifted by the little deer spirit.
The staple food was still the fragrant millet rice, accompanied by a plate of crunchy side dishes.
When the old man looked up from brewing tea and caught sight of Qi Wuhuo, his gaze slightly lifted, and his movements paused.:
“Your Primordial Essence…”
Qi Wuhuo understood that the elder was profound and inscrutable.
He set down the items and contemplated for a moment.
Then cupped his hands, replying:
“I have succeeded in cultivating it.”
PS: The price of meat, according to the [Juyuan Han Jian], is seven hundred coins for one hundred pounds.
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